Courageous Hearts Precure
by Frogberri
Summary: Connected to every human is a Dream Flower, which blooms as they pursue their dreams. But now the Night Manor is trying to destroy Dreaming Land and the flowers! Dreaming Land sent the Dreaming Pretty Cure to fight the Night Manor, but now they've disappeared. Luckily, the fairy Rebebe has come to Earth to find the Courageous Hearts Precure! [ fanseries ]
1. Episode One

The sky was dark and cracked. Like an eggshell that had been impacted, the sun was replaced with a dark array of splintering cracks. Her heels slammed violently into the cold, red pavement under her feet, each lifting step pulling drops of red liquid from the ground. A sweet smell of baked cookies conflicted the sight, contributing a surreal and confused environment.

She knew it wasn't blood. She knew that this was all an illusion. The smell of cookies was a trigger, something that lingered in this person's mind and reminded them of this horrible nightmare. Even so, Cure Faith was breathless with just as much panic as she was from the run.

"We're almost there, Faith! I can see the Suya Seed blooming!" Chimed a high pitch voice, one that originated from a doll hanging from her shoulder. The creature's voice was distinctly female, but she resembled a male lion with a auburn mane and golden fur.

Up ahead, Cure Faith saw the source of this madness. A young women was being held up by vines, hanging limply by her arms. She appeared to be sleeping, but Cure Faith knew that she was all too aware of the scene around her. This was, after all, that woman's nightmare. Vividly brought to life, and able to manifest and grow so long as she was affected by the seed.

"You're too late today, Cure Faith!" A voice called from above her, reminding Cure Faith that there was one other person present. If 'person' was the term. A young man with brown hair, cut short and framing his face, floated in the air just beyond the dreamer's right shoulder.

Cure Faith stopped and glared, pink eyes narrowed in anger, "I'm never too late and I never will be! So long as that woman continues to hope, I'll be here to wake her from any nightmare you plant in her heart!"

"But that's just the thing." Smirked the young man. He lowered himself to the ground and stepped closer to the dreamer, red eyes flashing with confidence, "She has no hope left."

There was a loud cracking sound. Faith turned her head in the direction of the sun's replacement and saw that the crack in the sky had gotten bigger. Her heart pounded anxiously in her chest as a grubby hand pounded through the sky and pulled apart a gap. Staring down at her was what looked like an plastic baby doll. Faith had no time to wonder how that factored into this woman's nightmare. The oversized toy stomped over to her like a odd replacement for Godzilla, leveling the imagined cityscape with its pounding steps.

"Faith, move!" She didn't need to be told twice. The Nightmare swung a clumsy punch at the Cure, who timed her jumping so that she would land on the monster's arm. It sounded just as plastic as it had looked, clearly not flesh and blood but merely an oversized toy. Its eyes were lazy and struggled to move, which dulled its reflexes.

This played to Faith's advantage. When the doll recognized the Cure on its arm it tried to pick her off with the opposite. Cure Faith leapt into the air and landed on this arm, and continued this pattern as the Nightmare tried to pick her off over and over with the opposite arm each time. Eventually she felt that the Nightmare's plastic frustrations had reached a certain peak, so she jumped onto the baby's head. Its tiny arms were not long or flexible, so when it tried to smack the girl on its bald head it just smacked its own face. The force caused the doll to topple onto its back.

The pink Cure landed away from the baby and held up her hand, "Pretty Cure!" She started, collecting pink light in her palm. Cure Faith then grasped it and threw a ball of this pink magic like a bowling ball, "MIRACLE RUSH!"

"UNI UNIII."

A strangled cry from the doll announced her victory. The plastic doll vanished suddenly, with just the blink of an eye. The damage it had caused to the imagined city faded.

"Now it's your turn, Leo!" Cure Faith snapped, turning around again. What she saw defied her expectations. The dreamer had not woken up. Instead, she was cocooned in so many vines that her face was barely visible. When Cure Faith opened her mouth to protest this development she heard another cracking sound. This time under her feet, serving as her only warning before another plastic hand closed around her leg. Faith shrieked and batted her fairy companion off of her shoulder as another baby doll Nightmare emerged and threw the pink girl beyond the cocooned dreamer.

"Faith!" Screamed her lion-isc companion, now fluttering over to where Faith had impacted with an imaginary building, "Faith! Faith, get up!"

"Nnngh... I, I am... I'm okay, Yumeme..." Her voice betrayed her words. Already, Cure Faith's pink uniform was tainted with dirty and various flaws. She winced as she peeled herself off of the building, struggling to open her eyes. Just a crack, just enough to see the Nightmare barreling down towards her...

_I can't move... _She wanted to, but she couldn't. She had put so much power into her finishing move that she didn't have the strength for a second fight...

The doll impacted with the building. The villainous young man, Leo, smirked approvingly as he saw the structure collapse.

"I was impressed that a single Cure could defeat so many Nightmares on her own." He remarked, floating closer to the rubble, "But working all alone is tiring. I knew you would reach your limit eventually, as long as I kept you from resting. Looks like this is the end of Dreaming Pretty Cure, Cure Faith – hm?"

A faint light shone through the dust clouds. Cure Faith blinked, surprised to find she was unharmed by the Nightmare's terrifying assault. She lifted her head with some difficulty, her entire body aching from weeks and weeks of solo Precure work.

"Yumeme...?"

"Nnngh! Hnnnngh!" The little fairy verbalized her struggle. She had created a barrier between Cure Faith and the doll's fist. Even now, the Nightmare was pushing against the circular barrier that Yumeme had created. That barrier was also being pressed into the building that it had broken on impact. Faith could hear it grinding against concrete and little snapping sounds as it began to crack.

"Yumeme!" Faith pulled herself together, ignoring her pain as she sat up, "Yumeme, stop! You don't have enough power for this!"

"M, maybe not... But I have enough power to try!" Yumeme squeaked, "Faith... Faith, that lady's Dream Flower is about to wither and die! When it does, her nightmare will be impossible to stop alone!"

"Yumeme..." Faith whispered. She knew that. She hadn't been able to fight her way through this nightmare fast enough. Because of that, the Suya Seed had grown out of control by the time she arrived...

"It's okay! I'll purify it!" She stood, her legs wobbly and painful to stand on, "Pretty Cure! Miracle...!"

Another cracking sound interrupted her. Not the sound of the barrier, thank goodness, but of another doll monster breaking through the ground beyond them. Yet another sound, and another doll baby slammed through the false sky. Faith felt a quiver of fear, one that sapped her remaining courage. She couldn't take on so many of them all alone...

"There's no time to waste! Believe in me, Faith! Like I believe in you!"

A flash of light snapped the shield apart. The Nightmare pressing on it was thrown back by the force of Yumeme's magic. The little fairy flew with surprising speed to the dreaming woman and held her tiny arms high.

"I won't let this nightmare spread! Cure Faith! I'll be waiting for you, I promise!"

Faith's eyes followed her fairy companion. At first she couldn't speak, her thoughts caught between the terrifying monsters and her friend's bravery. Then, all too suddenly, she realized what Yumeme was doing.

"No, stop! Yumeme, I need you!" Faith shrieked, "I can't do this by myself! Yumeme!"

"You won't have to." Yumeme smiled, oversized tears escaping her big brave eyes, "You're not alone, Cure Faith. I promise, none of us will ever leave you behind."

"But you did! You have!" Faith took a shaky step forward. Somewhere behind her she could hear one of the monster dolls stomping closer. She didn't care. Faith focused her strength on walking to Yumeme, oblivious to how a baby's plastic fist was aimed right at her...

"You won't hurt Faith!" Yumeme snapped. She closed her eyes tight and a bright light was emitted from her tiny body. Faith screamed and tried to run faster, stretching out her arm to stop her fairy friend. But the light got too bright. Faith was blinded. When the light faded and her eyes regained focus, Cure Faith was standing alone in the park. It was evening and no one was there. Not a dreaming woman, not a single baby doll, or even a pair of ears to hear the pink Cure scream in anguish and or eyes to see her fall to her knees.

Now, she really was the only one left.

* * *

><p>[ <strong>Courageous Hearts Precure<strong>

**Episode One:**

**"Enter Cure Light! I'm not dreaming, am I**? ]

* * *

><p>Yumekawa was a large seaside city, named for the fantastic river that flowed through it on its way to the ocean. Folklore told of how following the river would lead you to a place where your dreams came true. The harbor now anchored the occasional cruise ship, while daily fishing and pleasure boats left every morning and returned safely in the evenings.<p>

To Ayumu Inoue, Yumekawa was the city where she now lived. Further from the water was a television station, where Ayumu's mother now worked as a producer for the local news. Her father worked in a city that was four hours by train, commuting every Monday and returning on Friday. Ayumu, too, commuted by train every morning. But her train didn't take her to another city; it brought her to Reverie Academy, a prestigious school that she was transferring to that day.

At least, it was supposed to.

After wandering around outside of the train station for a few minutes, Ayumu realized that she was lost.

"Did I take the wrong train?" She brushed a white strip of hair out of her face, the only white hairs on her head. Ayumu's hair was naturally black and she had it braided down her back in twin braids that ended by her hips. She had bleached some hair on the left side, just a tiny strip that outlined her cheek. It was a friendship pact; even if transferring was scary and lonely, Ayumu reaped courage from the fact her friends back home had the same strip of bleached hair as she did.

"Mou... I think that I did." She whispered anxiously, "I should have let oniichan take me to school. He actually knows the way..."

But she had been stubborn. Her older brother Daisuke was always showing her up. He told their youngest sister, Yukari, that Ayumu was an unreliable big sister who couldn't do anything. She knew he was teasing, but it still made her angry. Angry enough that she had decided to get to school on her own so as to prove that she was more competent than he claimed.

"But it looks like he was right about me... This is so embarrassing." Without thinking, Ayumu started walking in a random direction. She hated to stand still and fret, but would rather keep moving until she found a solution to her problems. Unfortunately, this tactic was best used figuratively and not literally. Especially when your problem was being lost.

By the time that Ayumu realized this was a flawed tactic it was already too late. She stopped suddenly and examined her surroundings, startled to find herself in some sort of apartment district. Tall apartment buildings stretched into the sky, bunched so closely together that there was barely any light on the ground. She felt an involuntary shudder and hurried in the direction of the morning sun.

Then stopped again. A tiny form had flown across the sun filled gap between two of the buildings, cutting off her exit point. Ayumu stood still, stunned and blinking. It had looked like a small sheep flying by, but she did not know of any sheep so small or that could even fly.

Something else flew by immediately after. A boy, taller than her and probably older. She had only seen him briefly, but his hair was definitely short and brown and he was wearing dark clothing. This would not have been too weird, if not for the flying bit. Ayumu's curiosity grabbed control of her legs and she ran through the gap, turning to look in the direction that the two had gone in.

"Am I hallucinating...?" Because she definitely saw those two continuing to fly off. They were flying upwards now, towards the top of the building nearest Ayumu. She had been about to shrug her shoulders and leave them be, – wasn't like she could follow them anymore anyway – when she heard a high pitch scream.

"Nooo! Don't follow me, -rebe!" Cried the voice above her, "I told you that I am not giving you the Courage Chains, -rebe!"

"Heh! Big talk from such a tiny fairy!" Snarled a lower pitched voice coming from the same direction, "If you won't give them to me willingly than I'll take them by force!"

Ayumu bit her lip with concern, "Is that weird little thing... being bullied?"

It was such a bizarre scenario. She still could not wrap her mind around tiny flying sheep, or flying boys, or even where she was or how she'd get to school on time. For a moment she debated leaving and hoping this was all a dream, until her golden brown eyes caught sight of a fire escape ladder hanging down from the apartment. Normally those were held up and out of reach, but this one was right in front of her.

"I wonder if that's a sign...?" She wondered, approaching the ladder cautiously.

"Waaah! Don't take them, -rebe!" The voice sobbed loudly, "The Dreaming Princess is counting on me, -rebe!"

"You can't stop me!" Threatened the lower voice, "It's her fault for having faith in such an incompetent little pipsqueak."

"I am not a pipsqueak or even incompetent, -rebe!"

Ayumu felt something inside of her heart snap. It was empathy and sympathy, bundled into one package. She understood what it was like to be called incompetent. She didn't want that poor whatever to feel like she did. So she closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath. It was dark and uncertain, but she imagined herself having a little light inside of her that would guide her along. This strange form of meditation often helped Ayumu get herself through scary situations; she focused on the imaginary light and what she could do to make it brighter...

That imaginary light must have known a thing about climbing ladders. Ayumu had no idea how to handle heights or to quickly scale them, but the feelings inside of her guided her up the fire escape. She climbed the ladders from platform to platform, never looking down. The height of this apartment building would probably make her cry or steal her resolve. Plus she couldn't really linger and be seen doing something absolutely illegal.

"Give those to me!"

"I will not! Waah!"

She heard a struggle above her head. There was a soft impact sound that drew her gaze upward, just in time to see the tiny something falling in her direction. Ayumu gripped the ladder with one hand and stretched out the other to catch the falling something.

"Rebeh!" Gasped the caught creature, "Thank you, human!"

"N, no problem..." Ayumu found herself looking into a pair of dark purple eyes. She was holding a bundle of white wool, tucked inside of which was a little black... fairy, for lack of a better term. Two triangular ears poked out of what Ayumu now realized was a sheep-themed hoodie dress. There was a pale purple bow on its little head and a puff of curly white curls that looked like a Whoville resident's ponytail. Ayumu also realized that this 'fairy' probably identified as being a girl.

"Where'd she go? She stopped screaming." The second voice, of the flying boy, caught Ayumu's attention. Her dark dress and hair much have helped her to blend in with the ladder, since the voice's owner flew right passed her. He seemed to be looking for the fairy, having expected for her to have fallen to the ground after being smacked.

"You should carry me all of the way up, -rebe. We can jump to the apartment next door and go down that ladder without being seen." The fairy whispered.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not the frickin' Spiderman." Ayumu whispered back, "We're going back down this ladder this instant, okay?"

"But he'll see us." _Us_. Ayumu felt her stomach flip-flop. She had not been thinking this all of the way through. Without meaning to, she had become associated with this little fairy and gotten wrapped up in her drama. _I'm seriously going to be so late to school. And "fairy rescuing detours" probably aren't excuses for being tardy..._

The flying boy landed on the ground and walked back into the shadowed area of the apartment buildings. Ayumu saw her chance and began climbing down the ladder quickly, with her new fairy companion on her shoulder.

"Why is he after you?" She asked, deciding to use smalltalk to distract her nerves.

The fairy caught on and obliged her, "He wants the Courage Chains that the Dreaming Princess entrusted me with, -rebe. He's trying to stop me from finding the Pretty Cure."

"Wow, I'm having a really elaborate hallucination." Ayumu mumbled under her breath, "Where are the Courage Chains?"

"I'm not telling you, -rebe. You might be an enemy spy, -rebe!"

That was insulting, but Ayumu didn't see any reason to get angry about it. Instead she just shook her head calmly, "I'm not an enemy spy, I'm a Jr. High student... My name is Inoue Ayumu."

"Hmmm." The fairy considered this slowly before replying, "I am Rebebe, a fairy from Dreaming Land."

"Well, you've got me beat when it comes to being interesting." Ayumu reached the end of the last ladder and hopped to the ground. Rebebe held onto her shoulder so that they were not separated, and remained there even as Ayumu went to retrieve her school bag from where she had left it, "Are you... gonna get off of my shoulder now?"

Rebebe blinked innocently, then smiled, "Nope!"

"Aand... Why not?"

"Because we're friends, -rebe." The fairy replied, "You're my first human friend, Ayumu. I'm so happy to have met you."

It was hard to be annoyed at that. Ayumu couldn't help but smile and nodded in agreement, "And you're my first friend in Yumekawa, Rebebe."

"Wow, you must be a really lonely person." Rebebe observed with accidental rudeness.

"N, no... I just moved here over the weekend." Ayumu laughed, "Today is my first day of school, so I haven't really had a chance to make any new friends yet..."

Her voiced trailed off.

"Ayumu?" Rebebe questioned with concern, "Yet...?"

"School!" Ayumu yelped, "Oh gosh, I'm so super late! Aaahhhh Rebebe, where do you live? I'll take you back home on my way!"

"In Dreaming Land." Rebebe answered.

"Aaand that iiis– where?"

"In Dreaming Land."

"Yeah, so where do I go from here to get there?" Ayumu elaborated, figuring that Rebebe did not understand, "I'm new here, remember?"

The fairy shook her little head, "It's another world that exists in the hearts and minds of all living things." She explained, "But I don't need to go home. I need to find the Pretty Cure!"

That had hardly been helpful, but Ayumu was not the type to easily lose her temper. "Where should I drop you off then?"

"I don't know." Rebebe admitted, her voice now saddened, "I don't have any idea where to find the Pretty Cure... But everyone back home is counting on me, -rebe..."

Ayumu frowned, feeling badly for her new friend. Rebebe seemed pretty worked up about finding these people. She imagined it must be really important if she got so stressed about it.

"Tell you what." She started, forcing a peppy smile into her voice, "I have to go to school now, but how about I help you look this afternoon? I can make sure that bully doesn't bug you too."

"Really?" Rebebe's eyes lit up with hope, "Ayumu, you'd do that for me?"

Ayumu nodded, "Yup. We're friends, right?"

The fairy's eyes began to water, but she was smiling,"Okay! I've never been to 'school' before. Can I come with you?"

"Mm!" Ayumu nodded again and began walking in a random direction, "But we have to get there first. Tell me if you see any signs for the train station, okay? And try to be quiet. I don't think fairies are normal in Yumekawa."

"Okay!" Rebebe agreed, "Thanks, Ayumu!"

[** EYECATCH 1:** Ayumu is at her computer doing homework, when Rebebe flies over to give her a tea cup. She almost drops it, but Ayumu is quick to catch the cup and save her laptop. They both sigh in relief, then laugh. ]

[ **EYECATCH 2:** Cure Light and Cure Faith stand back-to-back, with Cure Light smiling a bubbly smile and posing dramatically while Cure Faith is frowning with her arms crossed over her chest. Cure Faith begins walking to the right, out of the frame, and we see that Cure Light could only maintain this pose when leaning on her fellow Cure. Cure Light flails and falls dramatically to the ground, leaving an empty frame with the logo in the corner. ]

Transferring schools was supposed to be nerve-racking. Ayumu knew that. But being an hour late to your first day was an entirely new level of nerve-racking. Ayumu was escorted out of the teacher's lounge, grateful that her lecture was not too severe.

"Come by the teacher's lounge at the end of the day, Inoue-san. I'll outline a map of the city so you don't get lost again." Her homeroom teacher, Miki Akiko-sensei, was a tall woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She had been called to the lounge when Ayumu arrived late and was calmly escorting her to her classroom. "Why didn't you come with your brother this morning? He's been in Yumekawa long enough to know the city layout, right?"

"Yeah... Sorry..." Ayumu sighed in defeat, knowing Miki-sensei was right. Before now, the Inoue family had lived in Hoshizora Valley– the city her father still worked in. Ayumu's older brother, Daisuke, had attended Reverie Academy and lived in one of their boarding dorms. Her mother had been very excited to get a job offer in Yumekawa and be able to move the family: She was working a stable job, got to send all of her kids to a high ranking school, and now her son had no excuse not to live with them. For Ayumu's mother, all of this was a dream come true.

"Are you nervous?" Miki asked. They had stopped in front of a classroom, standing in a long modern school hallway.

Ayumu looked up at her new teacher and tried to manage a confident smile, "A, a little... I'm so late... I'll make a horrible impression..."

Her nerves stirred in her stomach again. Just like her brother said, Ayumu was clumsy and unreliable. Too incompetent to even get to school. Her classmates would just see a silly girl that needed to be looked after, not the capable young adult Ayumu wanted to be.

But her teacher just chuckled softly at her concerns, "If we all made permanent judgments on first impressions then the world would be much different, Ayumu. Part of growing up is knowing that you can always change, both yourself and the opinions others have of you."

The words helped ease Ayumu's tensions. Is was a part of growing up... That was right. As a young adult, Ayumu could adapt to those sorts of things. This was a sign of her growing up, not a sign of being a child forever!

"Ayumu. I'm hungry, -rebe." The hairs on the back of Ayumu's neck stood up when she heard the whispering voice. She moved her bag from one hand to both, hugging it in front of her and hanging her head.

"Sssh! Not yet!" She whispered to Rebebe, who was hiding in an empty compartment.

"Yes yeet." Rebebe whispered back.

"Inoue-san?"

"Ahh! Y, yes yes, sorry! Giving myself a pep talk!" Ayumu straightened up and laughed weakly, "Okay, I'm ready! Ayumu Inoue's bravery is at max one-hundred!"

Her teacher giggled, "Okay. I'll go in and settle them down. Wait until I call you."

"Mm!" She chimed, watching her new homeroom teacher walk into the classroom. Then she sighed and opened the compartment Rebebe was in.

"Ayumu, I'm sorry. Was I bad?" Rebebe could tell from Ayumu's expression. The pitiful look on her fairy friend's apologetic face dissolved Ayumu's temper in an instant, and she sighed once again.

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry for stuffing you in there." She whispered, "But I can't have toys at school. You'll be taken away."

"I don't want that, -rebe."

"Me neither." Ayumu agreed, "Just a bit longer, okay?"

"Okay. I'll be patient for you, Ayumu!" Rebebe ducked back into the bag, just as Ayumu heard Miki calling.

"Inoue-san, you can come in now."

"Yes!" Ayumu called back and rushed to the door. Then stopped, suddenly stiff with fright. She had been so busy talking to Rebebe that she had forgotten to worry about her introductory speech! Should she smile and be bright and perky? Or apologetic about being late? Should she mentioned Daisuke being a student here already? No no, she didn't want to be labeled as his little sister forever!

"Inoue-san?" Miss Miki prompted her delicately, snapping Ayumu out of her stupor.

"Yes, coming!" She squeaked, her voice much higher than she had expected for it to be. Already she heard some of her new classmates giggling at her for squeaking like a mouse, but she powered through her fear and marched to the front of the classroom.

_Imagine a light, imagine a light!_

She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breathe. Her mind focused on the light rather than being scared, until she was so focused that she had forgotten that she had ever been scared.

Then Ayumu opened her eyes and mouth, "My name is Inoue Ayumu. I moved here because of my mother's work– ah, um– She's a producer for your local news station, um." Her smile faltered. Everyone was watching her attentively. Ayumu gulped and continued, "I'm sorry for being late, um! I kinda... took the wrong train, uh... I hope that we can all get along and be friends! Nice to meet you!"

Then she bowed, with her big braids flopping over her shoulders. She stayed this way, wondering why everyone was so quiet. It took a second for her classmates to begin clapping and calling welcoming words to her.

"Nice to meet you too, Inoue-chan!"

"I can show you around the train station, okay?"

"Your mom is so cool! I want to be a TV producer too!"

Ayumu smiled shyly, feeling her cheeks burdened with colour. Her anxiousness faded completely under the gentle warmth of her new classmates. _I think we can be friends. I think I can do this!_

"Thank you for that, Inoue-san." Miss Miki smiled, "You may all ask her more questions during lunch break. Now, for where you will be sitting... Hmm..."

Miss Miki scanned the classroom with her eyes, now looking troubled. Ayumu could see an empty seat in the second row, making itself obvious and practically screaming for the new transfer to sit there. There were no other available seats, yet Miss Miki kept looking with a strange expression on her face.

"W, well then... I suppose you'll have to sit between Manami-san and Sato-san..." She spoke slowly and with uncertainty tainting a strained smile. Ayumu nodded and took a step towards the seat, but was stopped. The two kids directly in front of her had stretched their arms out to create a wall that blocked her path.

"No! Miki-sensei, please!" Begged a blonde girl, "That's Shiori-chan's seat!"

"What if she comes back?" Added the other girl.

The stress was clearly visible on Miss Miki's face, "Girls... Inoue-san needs a seat..."

"Then we can go borrow an empty desk from another classroom!" Said the blonde, "Let's put Inoue-san in the back!"

"She can be in any row she wants, as long as it's not Shiori-chan's seat!"

"Th, that seat isn't Akemi-san's anymore..." Miss Miki spoke slowly. Her voice was quivering oddly, as if she was about to cry. Ayumu saw now that most of the class had a similar look on their face; sad and stressed, with their heads hung in mourning.

"Just let her have it." Said one of the boys harshly, "Get over it. Akemi isn't coming back ever again."

"Don't say that!" One of the girls stood up, "She is too!"

"She is not!" Snapped the boy, also standing, "People who have been missing this long are dead, Tsukino! Dead!"

The girl, Tsukino, went pale. Then tears spilled out of her eyes and she shoved through the desk arrangement towards the sliding door, "You're horrible, Matsumoto-kun!"

Then there was silence. Ayumu felt incredibly awkward. Who was this Shiori Akemi? And what did they mean, that she had been "missing" for a long time? She looked over at Miss Miki and saw her homeroom teacher was still deeply troubled.

"Ino... Inoue-san. I'm sorry. Please use Shio– Akemi-san's desk for today." She finally said, wiping her eyes, "Everyone, please open your books to page 46 and read the short story there. I'm going to get Tsukino-san."

"Yes, Miki-sensei." The class did not sound as peppy as before. Ayumu wondered if she had thought too optimistically too soon. She sat in her new desk and immediately felt stares digging into her back. She realized without being told that her transfer was no longer exciting to the students of class 2-B. The transfer of Inoue Ayumu was a symbol from the school in regards to the missing girl, Akemi Shiori: They had given up on that girl ever resurfacing again. Ayumu's transfer meant Shiori was considered dead.

* * *

><p>"That could have gone better." It was lunch break now. After asking all of the girls in class to eat with her and being turned down by each and every one, Ayumu had retreated to a lonely section of the courtyard. She had laid out a small blanket to sit on and given half of her food to Rebebe.<p>

"I don't think it was Ayumu's fault, -rebe. You had an excellent introduction." Rebebe insisted, clearly upset on Ayumu's behalf, "It was out of your control, -rebe."

"Even so." Ayumu frowned lightly, "Now no one wants to talk to me. It's like they think I'm a bad omen or something."

"Ayumu is a good omen!" Rebebe said confidently, "Because when you showed up, my day got really great. Ayumu is my best friend, -rebe!"

"Rebebe..." Ayumu felt her eyes water, but a smile spread across her lips at the same time, "Thank you... You're my best friend too."

She closed her eyes and thought about how bright her day was. There was darkness, but darkness just gave a light more reason to shine. Lights like her new fairy friend, Rebebe. "Right... I'm okay. I think I'll go request a new desk before lunch break ends."

"Okay." Rebebe smiled, "I'll come with you."

"Thank you." Ayumu dabbed the tears from her eyes and sighed out her troubles, "We need to get your Pretty Cure people too, right? Any idea how we should start?"

Rebebe paused, then shook her head, "I don't know exactly. The names and faces of the Pretty Cure are a mystery, even to me, so that their identities are safe until they're ready to wake up."

"I see..." Ayumu breathed out, "What exactly is a Pretty Cure?"

"A legendary warrior." Rebebe explained, "There are supposed to be five of them. They protect everyone's Dream Flowers and help them bloom beautifully."

"Dream Flowers? And you're from the Dreaming Land..." Ayumu laughed weakly, "Well, I guess I can't help but believe it now. My best friend is a fairy, after all."

"Dream Flowers contain your dreams. When you grow as a person, you nurture the flower. When you finally reach your dream, the Dream Flower creates a kind of magic that keeps Dreaming Land healthy." Rebebe elaborate, "They're good things. But the Night Manor wants to destroy them for some reason."

"Night Manor?" Ayumu repeated, "Was that person following you a Night Manor?"

"Mmhmm." Rebebe nodded, "His name is Leo. He's being really mean. He doesn't want me to find the Pretty Cure and protect the flowers."

_Isn't that because he's helping to destroy them?_ Ayumu didn't voice that thought, but continued her curiousity, "Okay, so finding the Pretty Cure is really important so that you can keep Dreaming Land healthy."

"Yeah." Rebebe agreed.

"But how will we know them when we find them? We don't know anything about them yet."

"With the Courage Chains." Rebebe squeaked in delight. She stood up and wiggled her tiny fairy hips until four objects dropped out of her little skirt. There were colourful jewels– yellow, green, blue, and purple – cut into diamonds and entrusted with gold. Each out hung off a chain back of golden beads with a heart-shaped keyring at the end. Ayumu stared, not sure what to think about how Rebebe's skirt seemed to have hammerspace inside of it. She was about to ask about that weird quirk (why not infinite pockets?) when Rebebe spoke up again. "When a Pretty Cure does an act of courage then the Courage Chain will go 'beep beep beep' and help them transform."

"Hmm... Is that so?" Ayumu mumbled, "So we need to make random people on the street behave super bravely until those light up..."

Which would be difficult. Rebebe sat down on the chains, which disappeared into her skirt's strange hammerspace, and the two of them fell into a thoughtful silence.

"Inoue-san?" A voice snapped Ayumu out of her daze. She didn't have time to hide Rebebe, but her clever friend was quick to go still and act like a stuffed toy. The girl who had run off, Tsukino, was standing about a yard away. In her arms was a textbook that Ayumu didn't recognize, held tightly to her chest and contributing to a sad, under-confident demeanor.

"Oh um... Tsukino-chan. Hello." Ayumu was not sure why she was here. She did not seem as angry anymore, though her eyes were red and puffy. She must have been crying a lot, "Can I help you?"

"I, I... Well, I saw that you didn't have your textbooks yet. I thought I'd help you catch up before our next class." Tsukino explained, "And well... I'm sorry. For what I did today."

Ayumu blinked a few times to clear some mental confusion, then shook her head rapidly, "Oh, please, it's okay! I'm sorry for upsetting you so much, really!" She forced herself to stay still as she continued, "I'm going to ask for a new desk, okay? I don't mind."

"O, oh... No, that's... I mean..." Tsukino looked ready to cry again. Then she gave a little laugh and wiped her tears, "That's exactly what Shiori-chan would have said too..."

From there, everything felt like it was falling into place. Miyoko Tsukino was a member of the art club. She had joined the club with her classmate and best friend, Shiori, the year before. Miyoko explained to Ayumu how she wore her hair up in blonde buns now because Shiori had always been fascinated by her last name.

"It's the same as our favorite super heroine, you know?" Miyoko elaborated, "My hair isn't long enough to look just like her, but Shiori-chan always did my hair up as close to Tsukino-chan's as possible. Now I keep it this way for her sake..."

"M, me too." Ayumu piped up, "I mean, n-no Shiori-chan, but... My friends from home and I bleached a bit of our hair. See?"

"It looks cute." Miyoko smiled, "And relaxing. I feel better with my hair this way."

"It looks really good on you." Ayumu smiled. Miyoko was really nice. The topic of Shiori had made Ayumu feel like an outsider before, but now it was helping her make a friend.

"Shiori-chan would have pestered you about eating together right away." Miyoko admitted, "She'd be upset if she knew we were excluding you over her..."

"Tsukino-chan..." Ayumu felt pity for her.

"Her dream was to have a world where everyone got along and was happy." Miyoko giggled sadly at the thought, "She always did her best to take care of everyone. So for her to be the one making the class so sad... That's not what she would have wanted at all."

Ayumu smiled weakly at the sentiment, "Thank you for telling me so much about Shiori-chan. I know that this must be really hard for you..."

"It is." Miyoko admitted, "But I don't want Shiori-chan to make me cry. That'd make her cry too... I want to help make her dreams come true, even if she isn't here anymore."

There was a moment of silence. Ayumu did not find it awkward, but soothing. It was as if both of them had realized in that moment that Shiori, the girl who was not there, would have wanted a chance to speak. Ayumu didn't know Shiori, but she could imagine the other girl thanking Miyoko for being so strong and smothering her in hugs.

"There you are."

Footsteps crunched the grass. Harsh, loud steps that commanded attention. Ayumu looked up to the source and felt her heart stop. The familiar boy from that morning was standing over them, his deep red eyes set on the "plush toy" between Miyoko and Ayumu. Now that Leo was not flying around like a weirdo, Ayumu could see that he wore a dark turtleneck with detached sleeves, strapped to his arms with belts. To complete the look, which Ayumu thought of as "trying too hard to look evil," were baggy pants tucked into black boots, spiky brass knuckles, and a spiky collar.

_It's a crime against fashion!_ Ayumu thought_._

"I didn't expect for you to be at this academy." Leo admitted, continuing to talk to the plushie, "When did you pick up these girls?"

"Um..." Miyoko looked deeply distressed. She looked at Ayumu, wondering at first if her new classmate knew this boy. Obviously not, so Miyoko got to her feet and frowned lightly at the newcomer, "Excuse me. I see you're not wearing our uniform, so you probably don't go here. You need to go to the front office to get a visitor's badge before you begin looking around the campus."

"Huh?" He looked confused, but caught on quickly, "I think you're misunderstanding something, girl."

"Like what?" Miyoko asked, her tone now challenging his behavior.

"I'm not here to visit." The boy explained, "I'm here for that pipsqueak of a fairy."

"I am not a pipsqueak, -rebe!" Rebebe broke her act suddenly and flew at the boy's face. It was Ayumu's fast thinking that got her to her feet in time to grab Rebebe and hold her back, but that did not stop the fairy's fierce glares, "Go away, -rebe! Ayumu is making a new friend, -rebe!"

"Ayumu?" Red eyes were now set on Ayumu, "This human?"

A shudder crept down her spine. Ayumu did not like the way that he was looking at her. She glanced at Miyoko and saw her friend's legs were also shaking. The two of them were eating out of sight, since Ayumu hadn't wanted to burden her classmates. That meant that no one could see they were being harassed.

Ayumu slowly stepped in front of Miyoko and glared at the boy, "Inoue Ayumu, actually. I saw you bullying Rebebe this morning... I won't let you start that again."

"Bullying?" He laughed, "It was hardly bullying. I was trying to kill her."

"Oh." Yeah, that was more than bullying. It almost sucked Ayumu's courage away. It was one thing to get between a bully and his victim, but a murderer and his victim? This had escalated quickly.

"Inoue-san..." Miyoko whispered, "At the count of three, okay?"

"Huh? Tsukino-chan?"

"One... Two..."

In a quick motion, Miyoko reached into her uniform pocket and pulled out a little bottle of perfume. With a yell of "THREE!" she ran at Leo and jumped into his line of vision, solely so that she could spray her perfume directly into his eyes. It startled him enough that he yelled out in panic and covered his eyes, instinct driving him to try to rub the perfume out.

"Let's so, Inoue-san! Fairy-san!" Miyoko called, reaching for Ayumu's hand and dragging her forward. Ayumu stumbled after her, surprised by Miyoko's bravery. This had been an almost perfect opening for them, until –

"You're not going anywhere! Suya Seed! Choke out their dreams and show them that nightmares are reality!"

It was a very weird thing for the guy to yell. It was also very weird to see a small, glowing object shoot towards them like a bullet. Though "glowing" may have been the wrong word. Glowing things gave off light. This thing seemed to suck in all of the light around it and create an outline of darkness. Ayumu was being dragged behind Miyoko and was looking over her shoulder at the object. She could already imagine it borrowing into her back like a gunshot wound –

"Inoue-san!" Miyoko looked over her shoulder too. Suddenly she was tugging down on Ayumu's hand and throwing the other girl to the ground. Ayumu fell onto her back, cradling Rebebe protectively in her arms, and watched as the light-less object went through Miyoko's chest.

"Tsukino-chan!" She shrieked. Ayumu let go of Rebebe so that she could sit up faster and crawled closer to her friend, who was sinking to her knees. There was no blood, no sign of the object going into Miyoko... But her friend was deathly pale and sweating cold. Miyoko began to tremble and curled up against Ayumu, looking into her friend's eyes with a terrified expression.

"Shiori-chan... Shiori-chan, I'm being really brave." She whispered, "So please come home... I want you to see how strong I can be..."

"Tsukino-chan...?" Ayumu felt Miyoko's cold hand on her cheek. It occurred to her that Miyoko was somehow mistaking her for Shiori, so the fact that Miyoko was moving to try to kiss her... "She meant a lot to you... Oh, Tsukino-chan..."

Ayumu avoided the kiss, for Miyoko and Shiori's sake, and pulled her friend into a hug. She hoped the warmth would get rid of Miyoko's cold shivering, but it did not seem to be helping. Miyoko slumped in her arms, asleep and whimpering.

"This is bad, -rebe!" Rebebe squeaked, "He used a Suya Seed on Miyoko's heart, Ayumu!"

"I have no idea what the heck that means!" Ayumu wailed, "But Tsukino-chan is so cold! I need to warm her up!"

"You can't, -rebe! She's stuck in a nightmare!" Rebebe whimpered back, "I'm so sorry, Ayumu, this is all because of me!"

"If you're feeling guilty then turn yourself in." The Suya Seed boy was back. He smirked, seemingly amused by how Miyoko had been affected.

There was a ringing sound, painfully high pitch so that it seemed to drive nails into Ayumu's ears. The point where the seed had entered Miyoko's chest 'glowed,' sapping all of the light around them. It quickly became more than just light: It was sapping away the very scenery. The green grass died, the bushes became dry and bare, and the sky was grey with rainless clouds. There was another ringing sound and then some sort of explosion that knocked Ayumu back. She somersaulted backwards until she hit one of the dry bushes, getting a face full of sharp, dead leaves.

"Tsukino-chan!" She sat up just as fast, in time to watch as a plant grew out of Miyoko. Its vines sunk into the ground and began to pull her into the air, wrapping around her slowly as they began to form a cocoon. Ayumu jumped to her feet and ran at the forming plant cocoon, tearing at it with her hands. "Tsukino-chan! Tsukino-chan, wake up!"

"She can't hear you." Leo explained, "No one outside of this Nightmare Garden can hear you now. You'll die here, just like so many others."

Ayumu looked over her shoulder, "D, die?"

"Mmhmm. Unless you convince that fairy to hand over her Courage Chains."

Now Ayumu looked for Rebebe. Her fairy friend was floating in front of her with her tiny head hung with guilt. Rebebe didn't need to voice her thoughts: Ayumu knew she felt guilty. All of this had started to get at Rebebe and it was working.

"O, okay... Okay. I'll give them to you, -rebe!" Rebebe sobbed, looking up at Leo with a fierce glare. There was a flash of light before all four Courage Chains appeared in front of her, "So stop hurting Ayumu and her friend, -rebebe!"

The effort to stop the vines wasn't working and Ayumu couldn't bear the thought of Rebebe throwing her dream away. Ayumu ran over to her fairy friend and tugged her back into her arms, holding her and the chains protectively. "Rebebe is a strong girl who wants to help those that she loves... And it's the same for Tsukino-chan! They're both so tough and they're already hurting a lot while trying to complete their goals. They don't need you making it harder just because you're a stupid face!"

"Ayumu..." Rebebe whimpered.

"I don't understand what Rebebe is trying to do exactly, but I know she dreams of being the fairy that can complete this sort of task... And Tsukino-chan is trying her hardest to fulfill her best friend's dream of a happy, friendly world." Ayumu continued, "As long as they're trying their best, I'm going to support them! And if anyone tries to stop them, I'll stop that too!"

Something flashed and began to beep a strange melody. Through squinting eyes, Ayumu could see that one of the Courage Chains was glowing bright gold. The light was so bright that Leo was momentarily blinded.

"Ayumu!" Rebebe yelled, "Grab it, -rebe!"

"R, right!" Ayumu reached out and snatched the glowing Courage Chain. The beaded chain snaked around her wrist and the keychain portion open and then snapped closed, creating a bracelet. It was warm and soothing like the sun...

"Pretty Cure..." She whispered the realization. Had she really been so courageous just now that the Courage Chain reacted to her? It seemed like such a funny coincidence for her to run into Rebebe, who was searching for these mysterious warriors, and then for her to turn out to be one of those warriors.

"It's not a coincidence." Ayumu whispered, "It's fate! Rebebe! How do I use this?"

"You need to transform first! Saying 'Pretty Cure, Dream Start!'" Rebebe called back, "Hurry!"

Leo was regaining his sight. Rebebe flew at him and tackled his face, covering his eyes with her body and being a general tiny nuisance.

"Thanks, Rebebe! I'll be quick!" Ayumu beamed and clapped her hands together, "Pretty Cure! Dreeeam START!"

The melody coming from the Courage Chain became louder, sounding more like a full fledged orchestra than its previous beeping had. The light was so bright that the scenery around Ayumu was bleached away and dyed yellow. She moved her right hand, which had the bracelet on it, over her chest and pressed the diamond shaped gem against her body. It flashed and then made a popping sound, detaching from the bracelet entirely.

Lights shot out from the diamond like ribbons, tying around Ayumu's body. Light consumed Ayumu's school uniform and turned it gold. Then there was another pop. Her uniform was gone, leaving a separate top and yellow circle skirt. She jumped up, pulling her legs up so that they touched the skirt and stole some of its infectious glow. When she landed again the light around her legs 'popped' and revealed boot covers over yellow boots. Through a similar process, Ayumu tapped her hands on her hips and stole some of the golden light, then clapped her hands together so that the light popped and created gloves. Next she tapped the sides of her head to spread some of the magic to her hair. With another pop she had pigtails with diamond-shaped buns. Finally, Ayumu tapped the diamond that was hovering in front of her chest. Her caplet appeared and the music switched.

"Nurturing the growth of dreams!" She called, spinning in place and then putting her fingertips together so that her arms made a diamond-shape, "Cure Light!"

The music wrapped up and the lights faded.

"Cure Light!" Rebebe squealed and back-flipped away from Leo, "I found you!"

"Rebebe!" Cure Light squealed back, "Hold onto those other chains and watch Tsukino-chan! I'll handle this!"

"Yeah!" Rebebe cheered, "You can do it, Cure Light!"

Leo growled and rubbed his face, which was now covered in fairy scratches. "Curses... You found one, but I can still stop you from finding the other three!"

"No way, Leo!" Cure Light snapped, pointing at him accusingly, "I won't let you get in the way of Rebebe's dream!"

"You can't stop me, Cure Greenhorn!" Leo hissed, "Nightmare! Show us that girl's worst!"

By now, Miyoko was covered with vines up to her waist. She whimpered loudly, distressed by whatever was going on in her head. Cure Light quickly realized what was distressing Miyoko. The ground shuddered as something ran over.

It was a desk, running with its legs like some sort of animal. There was a vase full of flowers seemingly glued to the top and giving off a storng, flowery scent. Eyes were on the edge and it moved its opening like a mouth when yelling, "Suyaa!"

"What the heck!" Cure Light squeaked, "What is that?"

"A nightmare, -rebe!" Rebebe called, "The Suya Seed is manifesting Miyoko's nightmares!"

"But her nightmare is a desk?" Cure Light asked, then she gasped. Of course... That empty desk represented Shiori's disappearance to Miyoko, and with a vase of flowers on top it would mean that Shiori was... Of course that would be her worst nightmare.

"How dare you!" Cure Light snapped at Leo, "Hang on, Tsukino-chan! I'm coming!"

"Suyaaaah!" Screamed the Nightmare.

Leo cackled at Cure Light's confidence, "Give it your best shot, Cure! But this will be your grave! Just like everyone else!"

Cure Light gritted her teeth and opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off –

"Not so fast, Leo!" Another voice called out. Cure Light turned her head to look in the voice's direction. There was a girl with long pink hair and a pink outfit. She stood with confidence, pink eyes narrowed at Leo.

"Tch... Cure Faith... So you're still alive." Leo hissed.

"Cure Faith?!" Rebebe gasped, "You're still here!"

"Of course I am." The pink cure, Cure Faith, snapped at Rebebe, "I'll deal with you later, Rebebe... But for now!" She turned to look at the Nightmare, "I'll deal with you!"

"Um... Hello? I'm here...?" Cure Light whispered, raising her hand nervously. Wasn't she supposed to be the hero here...?

* * *

><p><strong>EPISODE TWO PREVIEW<strong>

**Cure Light: **Wait, don't end the episode here! I don't want Tsukino-chan to have a nightmare all week!

**Rebebe: **It's okay, Cure Light! Cure Faith can handle this.

**Cure Faith: Mm. And I don't need your help to save Miyoko-chan, or to find Shiori!**

**Cure Light:** Wait what – You all know each other?! Next time, on Courageous Hearts Precure! "Precures working solo! This isn't how it should be!" Let's do our best this week too!


	2. Episode Two

Miyoko's nightmare had been spreading. It now covered a large portion of the school's courtyard and was creeping up the side of the school building. Students laid on the dried grass, some sobbing in their forced sleep. They suffered from the same nightmare that the Suya Seed was growing inside of Miyoko and their fear fed that same seed, helping it bloom faster.

"Suyaaaah!" Another crashing sound thundered across the nightmare. There was a giant school desk, almost as tall as the school building, with a vase on its "head" and narrowed eyes stomping around the Nightmare Garden. It was feeding off of the power of the Suya Seed and wrecking havoc, making this nightmare that much more terrifying for everyone involved.

"Tsukino-chan, hang on!" Cure Light called to her friend. The blond was hang in a cocoon of vines that was now up to her chest. Pretty soon it would consume Miyoko entirely and Cure Light had a feeling that was a bad thing. She turned to the pink cure, Cure Faith, with a worried expression, "We need to save everyone! Tell me what I can do to help!"

"Nothing." Came the pink cure's tart reply. Cure Faith stepped forward, leaving Cure Light behind her, "Just stay out of my way."

"Huh? But..." Cure Light bit her lip, "Don't you need my help?"

Cure Faith began walking towards the Nightmare. Her silence spoke volumes.

[ **Courageous Hearts Precure**

**Episode Two**

**Precures Working Solo? This isn't how it should be!**]

Suddenly, Cure Faith's walk broke into a run. She was faster than anyone that Ayumu had ever known, with her feet just barely touching the ground. The Nightmare made a growling sound and lunged at Cure Faith, intending to body slam the running Cure.

"Watch out!" Cure Light yelled.

The warning proved pointless. The pink Cure leapt over the giant desk and landed on the ground behind it. The Nightmare slammed unproductively into the ground. She turned swiftly and lifted her hand into the air,

"Pretty Cuuure!" She started. Light's eyes widened with awe. A ball of pink light was forming in Faith's outstretched hand. The other Cure grabbed it, three fingers sinking into the light as if it were a bowling ball, and then swung it at the Nightmare, "Miracle Rush!"

As the miracle rolled towards the Nightmare it grew like a snowball. But the time it reached the Nightmare it was already five feet across. The Nightmare lifted itself on its shaky desk legs and let the attack roll right under it.

"What!" Cure Faith gasped.

"This Nightmare can easily dodge your rolling attack." Leo smirked, "This is your last fight, Cure Faith!"

"You say that every time." Cure Faith hissed, holding her ground as the Nightmare munched up the ball of light, "But this isn't over yet!"

"Um, I can help you –" Cure Light reached out towards Cure Faith, but her fellow Cure jumped into the air and out of Light's reach, "O-or not?"

Faith threw a kick at the Nightmare's "chin" so that it flipped upward. When she landed on the ground she quickly darted under it and punched it into the air. Her strength was superhuman. The giant desk was thrown at least fifty feet into the air by someone barely even a fourth of its size. Light watched in amazement as Faith followed her opponent into the air with a superhuman jump. The smaller bodied girl got above the Nightmare and kicked it back towards the earth, assisting gravity's pull.

"This time for sure!" Cure Faith yelled, holding her hands up again, "Pretty Cure! Miracle Rush! Pretty Cure! Miracle Rush! Miracle Rush! Miracle Rush!"

Faith couldn't summon large attacks quickly, so she covered her weakness by summoning a shower of smaller, faster attacks. The pink lights rained down on the giant desk and drove holes through its top. The Nightmare wailed in frustration as it was pelted with more attacks than it could handle.

"And now, one more!" Faith landed on the ground and took a deep breathe, "For all of the dreamers– Have a little more faith!"

She held up her arms to summon one final attack. Cure Light noticed now that Faith looked exhausted. Because the Nightmare was flailing around on its back she had the time to focus what little power she had left into a final attack of a decent size.

"Pretty Cure!" Faith's voice cracked with exhaustion, but she didn't let herself stop, "Miracle RUSH!"

"UNI UNIII." Her final attack hit the flailing Nightmare dead on. With one final cry, the desk dissolved into pink light. When the light cleared there was a smaller, normal-sized desk left in its place. The vase on top of it shattered into sparkles and flower petals. Behind Cure Light and Faith, the vines on Miyoko began to loosen. Light turned around in time to see her friend beginning to fall, and she was quick enough to catch her.

Cure Faith turned her attention back to Leo and glared, "Now scram, Leo! And don't get near Miyoko-chan ever again!"

"Curses! You won't get this lucky next time, Cure Faith!" Leo called before vanishing.

Light tugged Miyoko a bit closer. Her friend's face was no longer twisted by nightmares, but held a relaxed smile. The Nightmare Garden flashed and then changed into a regular rose garden. The campus was now filled with hundreds of brilliantly coloured roses. There was a picnic blanket on lively green grass and a small pinkette sitting on it. The pink haired girl smiled in Miyoko's direction and waved calmly.

"Okay, it's time to go." Cure Faith sighed, "Miyoko-chan's Dream Flower should be safe for a while."

"For a while?" Cure Light repeated, "Isn't it safe forever?"

The other Cure just glared at Cure Light, "Don't be naïve,you rookie. I'm bidding this dream 'Good Morning.'"

"Okay..." Rebebe whimpered.

The new brilliant scenery retreated into Miyoko's chest until it had disappeared completely.

Cure Light was left in the school courtyard again. She could hear her classmates yawning as they slowly came to, free from the forced nightmare. She laid Miyoko in the grass, letting her new friend sleep peacefully and enjoy the last few seconds of her happy dream.

"Wow, Cure Faith. That was incredible." Cure Light beamed excitably, "Hey, can you train me to do that? I can help you out!"

"No." Faith responded bluntly, "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but no. As you can see, I'm doing just fine on my own."

Light begged to differ. Faith's shoulders rose and fell quickly as she tried to catch her breath. Her face was pale and she seemed about ready to collapse. Nothing about her seemed "fine" at all. Sure she had defeated the Nightmare, but it had clearly taken a lot of effort and been incredibly draining.

"Maybe... But it'll be a lot easier with two of us." Light stood up and held out her hand.

Faith looked at Light's hand, then turned away, "No thank you. In fact... Rebebe."

"Y, yes!" Rebebe squeaked.

"Hand over the Courage Chains. Yours too, Light." Cure Light jumped back with surprise. That was not what she had expected to hear.

"Being a Pretty Cure is dangerous work." Cure Faith elaborated, "Or didn't you see that fight right now? You could get hurt or even killed, and thousands of lives count on you not to mess up."

"But... The Courage Chain reacted to me..." Light argued hesitantly. This was her destiny.

"They'll react to anyone who shows them courage." Faith explained bluntly, "Having it react to you is nothing special anyway. You were just in the right place at the right time."

"That's not true!" Rebebe argued more spiritedly, "Ayumu is Cure Light! The Courage Chain did choose her!"

"It's a danger to her." Faith's voice rose with frustration. Then she closed her eyes and exhaled, putting a hand to her head as a dizzy spell passed. When she spoke next, she sounded much more calm. "I appreciate that you transformed to help Rebebe, but it was a spur-of-the-moment transformation. You haven't had time to make an informed decision about this."

"Informed...?" Light repeated. She hated to admit it, but Faith did have a point. She still only knew the basics of the problem and she had not expected or even wanted to be a Pretty Cure until she transformed. Her golden eyes set on Faith's and she saw true concern and fear behind the girl's pink eyes. Cure Faith was not trying to be mean.

"Nngh... Inoue-san...?" A groan from Miyoko caught their attention. She was beginning to wake from her dream and it probably wouldn't be good for her to see two Pretty Cure.

Faith held out her hand to Rebebe and Cure Light, prompting them silently.

"Well..." Cure Light looked at Rebebe, who seemed uneasy and guilty from the indirect scolding, "Okay... Will you let Rebebe keep the chains?"

Faith bit her lip and glanced at Rebebe, "I'd like to hold onto them for a while, Rebebe. I'll give them back to you once you are completely honest with this girl."

_Honest?_ Light blinked. Was Rebebe lying somehow? Her stomach knotted.

"Okay..." Rebebe retrieved the three other chains and held them out to Cure Faith. The three chains floated to Cure Faith's waist and attached to the hip of her outfit. She then looked to Cure Light, waiting.

"Promise you'll give them back to her." Cure Light said quickly, "And that you'll give me a chance to actually say 'yes.'"

"... Okay." Cure Faith agreed, "I promise."

Light held out her pinky finger now. "Super promise? Like... With needle swallowing and everything."

This seem to take Faith aback. But she nodded again and linked fingers with Light, "Just promise to think it through. Don't let 'destiny' be your reason."

Miyoko stirred more. Light tapped the diamond-shaped jewel on her outfit and the entire ensemble disappeared in a burst of light, leaving Ayumu in her school uniform. She handed the leftover Courage Chain to Cure Faith and watched as the only remaining Pretty Cure attached it to her waist with the others.

"Thank you." Cure Faith turned around, "Be sure to take it easy today. You must be tired."

"Oh uh... Hey, you too!" Ayumu called, "And um, Cure Faith? What's your real name–"

Before she could finish her question and even hope for an answer, Cure Faith jumped to the school roof and vanished from sight.

"I'm home!" Later, Ayumu was back in her residential district. Rebebe and her had stopped to buy some convenience store snacks, but were otherwise too tired to wander town. It wasn't like they had the Courage Chains anymore. Ayumu had felt fine sitting in Shiori's desk at school (aside from the awkward stares,) but now her body was stiff and sore.

"Welcome home, oneechan!" She heard the tapping of small cloth-covered feet racing down the wooden entry way and looked up to see her little sister barreling towards her. Yukari Inoue was ten years old and in the fourth grade, attending the elementary school portion of Reverie Academy. She had wanted to walk home by herself with her friends, and had apparently gotten back before Ayumu.

"Thanks, 'kari-chan." Ayumu giggled, catching an armful of little sister and just barely managing not to fall onto her back, "Did you have a good day?"

"Uh-huh." Yukari grinned, "I got my friends' numbers on my cellphone. They're going to show me around this weekend!"

_That was fast._ Ayumu's smile softened. Yukari might be a bit of a whiny brat at home, but she had such a cheery and cute personality outside of the house. It was no surprise that she had immediately made a ton of friends. _Plus she probably didn't take a missing classmate's seat._

Her mind wandered back to how awkward the end of school had been. How she had returned to the classroom with Miyoko and reluctantly gone back to Shiori's desk. No one said anything about her sitting there, but Ayumu felt incredibly awkward the entire time. It had made note taking difficult and worn her out mentally.

"How was your day, Ayu-nee?" Yukari still had Ayumu caught in a hug.

Ayumu hesitated, then lifted Yukari up just enough to spin her around a few times, "It was great! I made friends too, but I totally forgot about their phone numbers!"

"Ahaha! Oneechan, you're such a klutz– Wah!"

The older sister's tired legs buckled and she fell onto her back, cushioning Yukari's fall with her body. Yukari rolled off of Ayumu and giggled again. "Like I said! Such a klutz!"

"Y, yeah... Ow..." Ayumu whimpered. She tilted her head back when she heard approaching footsteps and frowned, "Oniichan..."

"Little sister #1." Daisuke looked down at Ayumu skeptically, "Did you get tackled by a ten year old just now?"

"No, I just fell." Ayumu grumbled, her cheeks puffing up like an angry fish, "How did you get back so fast? We go to the same school!"

"I showed Yukari and her friends a shortcut." Daisuke shrugged, "What took you so long?"

"Grrr..." She didn't answer. Ayumu picked herself up and grabbed her bag off of the floor, taking some time to remove her shoes. When she added her shoes to the pile by the door she noticed that there were only three pairs, "Is mom not home yet?"

"Mom has to work late now, remember?" Daisuke spoke in a condescending tone, "She's the producer for the evening news. She needs to make sure the 11 o'clock news gets off to a good start."

"Oh... Well excuse me for not being her day planner." Ayumu growled, "I'm going to my room to study."

"It's your night to cook dinner."

"I know that, Oniichan!" Ayumu huffed, "I'll do that when it's dinner time!"

With that, Ayumu stomped off to her bedroom. She didn't like to lose her temper, but it was hard not to get annoyed at Daisuke sometimes. He was always looking down on her, just because he was older and taller! That wasn't Ayumu's fault! It was his! So why did he give her such a hard time about it?

"Big brothers are the worst!" She tossed her school bag on the bed and then collapsed next to it, sighing loudly as if to emphasize a point, "You can come out now, Rebebe."

"Bebe!" Squealed the delighted fairy. The bag shuffled a bit before Rebebe squirm free and flew into the air, excitably flitting around the room, "Wow! Ayumu's room is so big! And pink!"

"Hehe... To be honest, this is just the way it was when we bought it." Ayumu admitted, "I kind of wanted Daisuke's room, because it's yellow."

"Really? Do you like yellow?"

Ayumu nodded, "Because it's like the sun, you know? I love the sun."

"Oh... Yeah, I can get that." Rebebe agreed. She examined a bookshelf in the far corner of the room and began poking through the books while Ayumu continued.

"Daisuke and Yukari got to pick their rooms first, so this was my only option." She sighed, "Though I guess we're lucky to even have this many rooms."

"I like it this way, -rebe." Rebebe tried to assure her, "It's like the sun at daybreak."

"Hmmm... I guess so." Ayumu grinned, "I still wish I could have had Daisuke's yellow room! Big brothers are so mean!"

She flopped onto her back now. Rebebe flew over to her friend's side and sat next to her, "I wouldn't know. I've never had a big brother before."

"You're lucky then." Ayumu turned her head to look at Rebebe, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah, a big sister." Rebebe beamed proudly, "Her name is Yumeme, -rebe. She was really cool."

"Ehh... Big sisters can be cool, huh?" Ayumu breathed out thoughtfully, "I wonder if I'm cool to Yukari? I'm kind of clumsy..."

"Yumeme was a Pretty Cure partner, like I'm gonna be." Rebebe chimed, "And Ayumu is going to be a Pretty Cure, -rebe! I think you're cool like Yumeme, Ayumu."

"You do? Ehehee." Ayumu smiled shyly, blush creeping along her cheeks, "But wait... If Yumeme is a Pretty Cure partner like you, then doesn't that meant here are other Pretty Cure? Why do you need more?"

"W, well..." Rebebe's voice quivered anxiously. Ayumu was suddenly reminded of what Cure Faith had said earlier: Rebebe needed to be more honest. Did her lack of honesty have something to do with her sister's Pretty Cure?

Ayumu sat up properly, "It's okay, Rebebe. I won't be angry." She promised, "I know you weren't trying to be dishonest."

"Rebe..." Her fairy friend still looked guilty. Those guilty eyes searched Ayumu's for reassurance. She must have found it, since she exhaled a squeaky breathe and settled down on the bed in front of Ayumu. "Yumeme was the partner for a team of Pretty Cure called Dreaming Pretty Cure, -rebe. They were in Yumekawa before I got here. I was sent here after them, -rebe."

"Eeh... Is that so?" Ayumu mumbled thoughtfully, "Was that Cure Faith one of them?"

Rebebe nodded slowly, "Cure Faith was their leader. She was the first Pretty Cure that Yumeme ever partnered with."

"Partnered... Past tense?" Ayumu worried.

"Mm... Two weeks ago, Yumeme disappeared." Rebebe admitted, her voice much more quiet now, "The Dreaming Princess didn't know what had happened. We tried very hard to find her or contact her, but two weeks passed without a single check-in, -rebe."

"Oh no, Rebebe..." Ayumu scooped her fairy friend up in her hands. Rebebe didn't need to say it: Ayumu could imagined that her new friend was upset over this. She may fight a lot with Daisuke and Yukari, but if they ever went missing...

Ayumu squeezed Rebebe in a gentle hug, "I'm so sorry, Rebebe."

She heard a little sob break from her friend's throat and felt Rebebe burrow against her, "B, but the Dreaming Princess says Yumeme is still alive somewhere. She sent me here to fill in for her and find her." Rebebe squeezed the words out in a brave, steady voice.

As much as Ayumu wanted to just sit and comfort Rebebe with hugs, she respected how brave her friend was being. So she forced the urge aside and focused on the topic at hand, "Then don't you need to partner with the Dreaming Pretty Cure? Why are you looking for more of them?"

"They all disappeared." Rebebe said sadly, "Cure Faith is the only one around here."

"How do you know that?" Ayumu asked, more curious than accusing.

Rebebe wiggled out of the hug, "The Courage Chains are a back-up system. Being a Pretty Cure is really dangerous, but Dreaming Land needs them... so when a Pretty Cure becomes unfit for her duty, a Courage Chain appears in the Dreaming Castle."

"I see..." This seemed very convenient, but Ayumu didn't comment on that, "You had four chains, so that means four of the Dreaming Pretty Cure are unfit to be Pretty Cure... But Cure Faith is still around. That means there were five of them, right?"

"Yes." Rebebe agreed, "But now there's only one. Cure Faith is strong, but a Pretty Cure doesn't get her strength from being alone."

Ayumu was reminded briefly of the fight earlier that day. Cure Faith had indeed been strong. Fantastically and amazingly so. But when the fight was over, the pink Cure had looked so tired. Pale, fainting, and weak with exhaustion.

"Even so, she didn't want my help immediately." To Ayumu, this was admirable, "She's so tired and must really want help, but she didn't let me make a hasty decision... She must be really kind."

"Mm." Rebebe agreed, "But she really needs help, Ayumu. It's not just Dreaming Land that the Pretty Cure are supposed to protect. Already, this town itself is in a lot of danger."

"What? Yumekawa city is?"

[ EYECATCH 1: Ayumu is at her computer doing homework, when Rebebe flies over to give her a tea cup. She almost drops it, but Ayumu is quick to catch the cup and save her laptop. They both sigh in relief, then laugh. ]

[ EYECATCH 2: Cure Light and Cure Faith stand back-to-back, with Cure Light smiling a bubbly smile and posing dramatically while Cure Faith is frowning with her arms crossed over her chest. Cure Faith begins walking to the right, out of the frame, and we see that Cure Light could only maintain this pose when leaning on her fellow Cure. Cure Light flails and falls dramatically to the ground, leaving an empty frame with the logo in the corner. ]

"Ayumu! Is supper ready yet?"

"Lay off it, Daisuke! Water doesn't boil in thirty seconds, you stupid!"

It was early evening. Since it was a Monday night, Ayumu was only cooking for three. Her father was in the neighboring city, spending the night in a company apartment, and her mother was working late. Still, her older brother Daisuke ate a lot. Even if she was technically cooking for three, Ayumu felt like she was cooking for an entire army. And on top of her brother's huge appetite, she had Rebebe to think about.

"Rebebe..." Ayumu sighed and turned back to the pot of noodles she was boiling, thinking deeply about their previous conversation.

"What do mean, Yumekawa City is in danger too?" Ayumu had snapped out of her shocked stupor a second later, her voice accidentally raised with urgency. It had made Rebebe flinch, but her brave fairy friend didn't falter.

"Yumekawa City is on the Dreaming River." Rebebe explained, "The dreams along that river flow directly into Dreaming Land and nurture the land. The river also flows directly out of Dreaming Land, so the Dreaming Princess can give humans the courage they need to make their dreams come true."

"That's like in the folktales." Ayumu whispered. Many stories took place along this river, and all of them involved the heroes getting the final push that they needed to make their extraordinary dreams a reality. "So that magic is real."

Rebebe nodded urgently, "But that's why Yumekawa is being targeted by the Night Manor, -rebe! The river flows into the ocean, so that the Dreaming Power in the water spreads all over the world. But if the Night Manor turns that into Nightmare Power..."

"The river can be used to spread nightmares instead!" Ayumu finished, voice full of horror, "That's terrible, Rebebe."

"Uh-huh. What's worse is that the Courage Chains started appearing five months ago." Rebebe spoke quickly now, "Dreaming Pretty Cure has been falling apart for almost half a year now. In that time, the Night Manor has been able to plant a lot of Suya Seeds and kill a lot of Dreaming Flowers."

"Kill them?" Ayumu whispered, "What do you mean?"

"The Suya Seed isn't an evil thing on its own. It's used to put humans to sleep so we Dreaming Fairies can check their dreams and make sure that they're healthy and happy."

She understood how they planned to check the dreams. When the seed in Miyoko had bloomed it wasn't a flower that came out. It was as if Miyoko's mental landscape seeped into reality. Ayumu had literally been inside Miyoko's nightmare...

"But when that Leo guy used the seed, I didn't see Tsukino-chan's dream. It was a nightmare!"

"Yeah. The Night Manor is using the Suya Seeds to put people to sleep and turn their dreams into nightmares." Rebebe explained, "What it creates is called a Nightmare Garden. The Nightmare Garden can suck in other humans and give them nightmares too. It pollutes the city with Nightmare Energy and makes everyone have nightmares instead of dreams!"

"No..." Ayumu whimpered, "That's horrible..."

Rebebe exhaled again. She seemed tired from all of the explaining, so tried to wrap it up quickly, "That's why I need you to become Cure Light! It'll be scary and dangerous, but we have to protect everyone's dreams!"

Something sizzled and smoked, jolting Ayumu out of her flashback-induced stupor. The water in her pot had started overflowing onto the stove.

"Aaahhh no no nooo!" She lifted the pot and held it away from the heated burner until the water settled, then placed it on the stove again and turned down the heat.

"What's going on in there, Ayumu?" Daisuke called from the living room.

"N, nothing! Nothing at all! Supper is almost ready!" Ayumu called. When Daisuke didn't respond in a bully sort of way she sighed and looked down at her cooking. "I'm so clumsy and dumb. Would I even make a good Pretty Cure?"

The finished product was noodles with a side of homemade sauce, baked chicken, and some steamed vegetables. A very Western looking meal, one that Ayumu had learned from an English magazine. She had taken a liking to practicing her English with cooking magazines because she could quickly tell if she had read the text correctly or not: If the food tasted awful then she had probably made a mistake, but if it looked similar to the pictures then she must have understood it.

"Looks good, Ayu-nee." Yukari praised her, "You're so good at reading English."

"Ehehe... R, reading and speaking are totally different." Ayumu smiled shyly.

"And if your test scores are any indication, so is writing." Daisuke mumbled. Ayumu gave him a nasty look before returning her focus to her own eating.

"Yukari, how were classes today?" She tried to change the subject and keep the table from being awkwardly quiet.

Her younger sister hummed thoughtfully before replying, "They were okay. The math they do here is easier than my old school, but the books they've been reading are really different. I have to catch up in this novel by the end of the week..."

"Eh... Maybe it's a good book, at least?" Ayumu hoped.

Yukari shook her head, "It looks really boring. It's some Dreaming River folklore..."

"More about the folklore, huh?" Ayumu mumbled thoughtfully. She lifted her gaze from her plate and looked across the room, towards the staircase. _I wonder if those stories were influenced by the Dreaming Land and Dreaming River's history? Maybe Rebebe would know..._

Speaking of Rebebe...

Ayumu almost choked on her pasta.

"Ah! Oneechan, are you okay?" Yukari asked.

"Slow down, pig." Daisuke scoffed.

Ayumu coughed until her lungs felt clear. As much as she wanted to retort to her brother, she couldn't bring herself to. Because across the room, hovering urgently by the staircase, was Rebebe.

"Th, this 'pig' is done eating!" Ayumu stood up and rushed her plate into the kitchen, "Daisuke, it's your night for dishes!"

"I know." Daisuke called after her, "Wait, don't you want to stay for Yukari's dessert?"

"I made pudding, Oneechan!" Yukari added.

Ugh, it was so tempting. Ayumu dragged herself to the stairs, "Save mine! I need to call a classmate about homework!"

"Oh, okay!" Yukari called.

Ayumu grabbed Rebebe on her way up the stairs and pulled her fairy companion into her pink bedroom, then sighed loudly, "Re, Rebebe! I told you to stay here and wait for me to bring you leftovers –"

"There's no time for that, -rebe!" Rebebe spoke with the same urgency of her flying, expression panicked and scared, "I can smell a Nightmare Garden in bloom!"

"A Nightmare Garden? Right now?" Ayumu repeated in disbelief, "But there was already one today! There can't be two in the same day!"

"There can be!" Rebebe worried, "Because the Night Manor is so strong right now, without a full Pretty Cure team to stop them!"

"E, ehh? You never told me that bit!" Ayumu gasped, "Can you smell it out?"

Rebebe sniffed the air, then nodded, "It's close enough that it stinks really bad. I can find it with my nose, -rebe!"

"Good." Ayumu ran to her closet and yanked a coat off of the hanger, then tossed the coat on in a hurry. The pockets were big, so she stuffed Rebebe in one before running out of her room and down the stairs.

"How'd the call go, Oneechan?" Yukari looked in Ayumu's direction when she heard her sister tearing down the stairs.

"Great! I need to borrow a textbook, though." Ayumu lied, "I'll be back in a bit!"

"Oh, okay." Yukari waved, "Be safe, Ayu!"

"I will!" Ayumu called. At least, she hoped that she would be.

The night was calm and bright. A full moon reflected off of the streets and lamp posts provided additional lighting. There was a soft hum of insect life and the light rumble of traffic in the distance. It hardly seemed like a night that had literal nightmares roaming the streets.

"Over there, -rebe!" Rebebe called, pointing a short fairy arm down a street corner. Ayumu turned swiftly and picked up the pace. She had been running for five minutes already, which was five minutes that Cure Faith had spent fighting alone. "We're almost in the Nightmare Garden, Ayumu! Keep it together, -rebe!"

"Right!" Ayumu agreed. If it was anything like Miyoko's nightmare then it was going to be surreal and terrifying. She had to keep her wits and courage about her if she planned to...

_If I plan to what?_

It occurred to Ayumu, if only momentarily, that she had no plans for after she got to the garden. She had literally taken off without a second thought, with no plans for what she would do when she got to the Nightmare Garden. Though Rebebe had filled her in on some more of the specifics, she still hadn't committed to the idea of being a Pretty Cure.

"Ayumu?" Rebebe noticed that Ayumu had slowed her run. The slow run eventually became a walk, then nothing at all. "Ayumu? What's wrong?"

She bit her lip, feeling anxiety bubbling up inside of her. What was wrong? Where had that burst of courage from before gone to?

"Ayumu?" Rebebe prompted again.

Ayumu took a deep breathe, "Sorry, I need a moment. I need to think really quick!"

"Think? About what?" Rebebe wondered, but she got no answer.

_Cure Faith must be in there... I need to have my answer before I go in there. Otherwise I'll just become Pretty Cure out of necessity!_

Inside of the Nightmare Garden, Cure Faith was indeed fighting alone. A Suya Seed had been planted in the heart of a businessman who was returning home late. He was strung up in a similar way as Miyoko had been, with vines coming from his chest and rooting themselves into the ground. His nightmare had been spreading steadily since being infected, painting the neighbor with his terrifying imagination. Homes were replaced with decaying structures that threatened to fall apart, the moon was replaced with a bloody red circle that oozed iron scented goop, and the roads were cracked into widely separated slabs. The iron scented goop also oozed from between these cracks and was hot to touch, like some sort of twisted lava.

Cure Faith leapt from slab to slab, struggling to find safe landing spots between jumps. The roads were dissolving in the disgusting liquid and faded faster when she pressed her weight against them. A few splashes of the red liquid had already gotten to her boots and gnawed holes into them, so she wasn't about to see what happened if she landed in the stuff.

It was a different story for her opponent.

"Suyaaaa!" Wading through the red slush was a giant suitcase. Its bottom was drawn up in a round angle so that the corners could act as feet. It moved with surprising speed for something so awkward and body slammed into the imaginary lava.

"Kyah!" Cure Faith crossed her arms and jumped off of her latest hold as it was swallowed by a wave of the liquid. A faint pink barrier formed around her front, a product of her Precure powers, but it wasn't there to protect her backside. Faith landed butt-first on another slab as the large wave dissolved and began rocking the 'water' violently. She had to do a quick backwards somersault so that she could backflip off of the slab before it was swallowed up. Her next landing was on her feet, and she took a moment to assess her damaged surroundings before leaping to one of the damaged houses. This would take longer to dissolve.

"Nnngh... No more..." A faint moan drew her attention. Inside the house was a family. All of the people had been drawn into the nightmare and were now suffering in their forced sleep. She turned her head and counted the number of infected houses: Five. That was five families contributing their Nightmare Power. Five families in danger of losing their dreams...!

"Had enough, Cure Faith?" Called a voice. It was not Leo, but a smaller form with short pink hair barely visible from under a red hood, "You gave my big brother a hard time today, so I'm here to finish what he started!"

"Usagi...!" Cure Faith hissed. The girl floating in the air was Leo's younger sister. They both had the same red eyes and primarily dressed in black, but Usagi's hair was pale pink and she wore a red hooded cape over her black ensemble. The red was accented by a white fluffy trim and there was a giant white bunny head printed on the back, symbolic of the girl's name.

"Unfortunately for you, Cure Faith, your time is running out!" Usagi called, "While you've been trying to find a place to stand, this man's Nightmare Garden has been laying down its roots. Soon it'll be stuck here forever, just like every other nightmare you've failed to stop!"

"Ah-!" The pink girl gasped, eyes wide with horror. She turned and saw that the man in question was almost covered in vines. Soon the cocoon would be complete and the roots would be so deep that nothing could dig them up again. His Nightmare Garden would be here forever, trapping him and all of these households in despair. "No... I can't let anyone else go 'missing!'"

"And I can't either!"

Cure Faith flinched. When she turned to the source of the voice she saw Ayumu running down the street. The ground under Ayumu's feet began to dissolve and crack when she stepped on it, throwing the girl off balance.

"Ah! Rebebe, you never said this would happeeen!" Ayumu called, stumbling from piece to piece as she struggled to regain her failing balance.

"I didn't know the ground was going away, -rebe!" Luckily, her fairy friend flew to the side she was teetering towards and pushed her upright again. No longer in danger of falling clumsily into the liquid, Ayumu began hopping slabs and traveling in the direction of Cure Faith.

"You fool! Go back!" Cure Faith called when she saw her, "This nightmare isn't safe for a normal human! You're going to fall in and burn up!"

"I'm not a normal human!" Ayumu called to Cure Faith, "I'm a Pretty Cure!"

"Pretty Cure?" Usagi had been willing to let Ayumu hop around before, but this wouldn't do. She pointed at Ayumu, "Suitcase Nightmare! Get her!"

"SUYAA!" The suitcase began wading through the red again, this time in Ayumu's direction. When it was close enough it slammed into the water and created another wave.

"Ah!" Ayumu saw the huge wave coming her way. She grabbed Rebebe from her shoulder and threw her in Cure Faith's direction, "Sorry about this! CATCH!"

"AYUMUUU!" Rebebe shrieked as she was thrown. The throw wasn't strong enough to reach Cure Faith, so the pink Cure leapt through the air and caught Rebebe part way. They landed in the fenced area outside of one of the houses just as the red waved swallowed Ayumu. "AYUUU!"

"Ahahaha!" Usagi cackled victoriously, "Talk about pathetic! She wasn't a Pretty Cure after all, was she?"

The wave began to settle. All that was left was red liquid, rocking back and forth at a slower and slower rate until the surface was still. Cure Faith didn't realize that her eyes had teared up until she heard Rebebe's own tears break into a sob. The sound brought a cold slap of reality to Cure Faith's face.

"Ayumu... Ayumu!" Rebebe whimpered, "Waaaaah! It's all my fault!"

"Rebebe..." Cure Faith tugged her closer and shook her head, "Nn-nn. I shouldn't have... or I should have... I, I..."

"I lost my first Pretty Cure!" The fairy's sobbing overpowered Cure Faith's, "I can't be a Pretty Cure partner! I'm the worst partner! I'm sorry, Ayumu!"

"Re... Bebe. Oh, Bebe." Faith held her tighter, gently rubbing the fairy's ears to soothe her, "It's not your fault at all..."

"Don't lie to her!" Usagi's voice came from overhead. The pinkette snickered at the girls' sobbing, her smile splitting like an ugly crack from ear to ear, "You dreamed of becoming a Pretty Cure partner? Then don't worry, little baby!"

"Rebe?" Dark purple eyes darted to Usagi, still stained with tears.

"You got her killed! That's great! Now she'll never be in pain again. She'll never have to experience the pain of hopelessness!" Usagi giggled, "And since I feel nice... I'll help you follow in your stupid sister's footsteps! Suitcase Nightmare!"

"Suyaaah!" The suitcase clombered over.

"Send Rebebe to join her sister!" Usagi giggled, "And send Cure Faith to join her precious teammates too! This is the end of Dreaming Pretty Cure, forever!"

The suitcase moved backwards. Cure Faith realized very quickly that it was going to slam into the red again and send another wave at her. But it would be different this time... She was standing in the yard of one of the houses. The resulting wave would hit the house and burn the suffering family inside of it...!

"I can't let that happen..." Cure Faith whispered, "Rebebe, fly away! I can try to create a barrier!"

"I won't leave you alone!" Rebebe sobbed, "I won't let Oneechan's Pretty Cure all be dead too!"

"Rebebe... No!" The suitcase slammed down and a wave came hurtling towards them. It was over. Cure Faith set Rebebe on her shoulder so that she could hold both arms out and hope to create a shield. She watched the oncoming wave, trembling all over... And then she saw what had to be the strangest thing.

Standing on the crown of the wave – or more specifically, on a slab of glowing concrete on the wave – was Ayumu. The glow she was standing on began to spread along the gooey water, but it wasn't nearly as startling as simply seeing Ayumu there.

"Heeeek! I've never surfed except on the interneeeet!" Ayumu's scream was barely audible. Both because of the distance and the shock that was muting all sounds that tried to touch Faith's ears.

"What the heck!" Usagi shrieked, "How are you still okay, you Not-A-Pretty-Cure girl?!"

Cure Faith's eyes were wide. She had seen Ayumu be swallowed by the wave. She knew Ayumu had drowned – no, burned to death – in that horrible red liquid. The liquid that was now clumsily surfing, "How are you still here?!"

"Ayumu!" Rebebe called joyfully, "AYUMU!"

"Oh, hey! Rebebeee! Cure Faith!" Ayumu giggled and waved to them, "It's okay! Brace yourselves!"

"Brace ourselves? Ack- that's right, we're going to burn up –" Cure Faith's protests were cut off when the wave slammed into her. She was covered in gross red goo, but it didn't burn like she had expected for it to. "What's going on?"

"I think that I figured it out!" Ayumu landed next to Cure Faith and sighed in relief, "Nightmares are the opposite of dreams... But Dreams are also the opposite of nightmares!"

"Eh?" Rebebe and Cure Faith blinked in unison.

"Which means!" The black haired girl turned and faced the infected man. He was almost completely covered now, with only the top of his head remaining, "If this nightmare can eat up dreams, then dreams can also eat up the nightmares! All you need is a bit of courage to face them!"

She looked over her shoulder at Cure Faith and her smile became more goofy, "But when it comes to fighting giant suitcase monsters, I think being a Pretty Cure would be Pretty Helpful!"

"Courage...?" Cure Faith repeated. There was a flash of light from the chains attached to her waist. The yellow diamond popped off and floated towards Ayumu.

"No stop!" Cure Faith reached out to grab it, but Ayumu snatched up the Courage Chain first. Faith shook her head disapprovingly, "You saw how dangerous this is! Stop right away, before you really do get killed!"

"It's okay, Cure Faith." Ayumu gripped the chain more tightly. Its light crept up her arm and began to cover her entire body, which alarmed Cure Faith more, "Nightmares are going to be scary. I know that fighting them will scare me. But no matter how scared I get, as long as I have courage then I'll be okay."

The light around her hands 'popped' to create gloves. There was a pop around her shoulders, around her waist, on her back, on her legs, on her feet, on her head – Slowly, Cure Light overtook Ayumu Inoue.

With her transformation complete, Cure Light turned to face Usagi and her Suitcase Nightmare again. She pointed beyond them, at the man who was infected, "Hang on, Mister! I'm Cure Light, and I'm here to nurture your dreams!"

**EPISODE THREE PREVIEW**

**Rebebe: **Cure Light! Your transformed again!

**Cure Light: **Mm! Rebebe, let's do our best! To become the best Pretty Cure team-

**Rebebe:** -and best Pretty Cure Partner there could ever be!

**Cure Light & Rebebe:** Courageous Hearts Pretty Cure is here to fight for your dreams!


	3. Episode Three

The only source of light in the dark sky was a glowing red moon, one that was cracked like a cookie and seeping red liquid like a jelly donut. A stream of this gooey red substance was pouring all over the ground, covering the nightmare with a strange lake. All of this bizarre scenery was twisting what should have been a normal neighborhood.

"No, stop!" Standing on the bank, which was actually a front yard of one of the houses, were Cure Faith and Ayumu Inoue. Faith yelled at Ayumu, her face twisted with concern, "You saw how dangerous this is! Don't become a Pretty Cure!"

Ayumu shook her head and smiled confidently, "It's okay, Cure Faith. You don't need to worry."

She held out her hand towards the yellow Courage Chain, which was floating in front of her. The chain wrapped around Ayumu's arm and began changing her outfit into that of Cure Light.

"Nightmares may be scary… But as long as I have courage-" There was a final pop of golden light, leaving Cure Light in the place of her counterpart, "-I'll be okay! So! Suya Seed-san!"

Cure Light held up her hand and then moved it down and to the left quickly, only to then gather both hands in front of her and point at the giant suitcase that was threatening the neighborhood.

"Cure Light is here to nurture your dreams!"

[ Courageous Hearts Precure

Episode Three:

The Best Pretty Cure and Partner There Ever Was! ]

Just five minutes earlier, Ayumu had not been quite so confident. The last thing that Ayumu remembered was the sound of Rebebe's voice, calling her name in absolute panic. Though she didn't see them touch down, she had seen Cure Faith jump to the fairy and catch her before she fell into the red liquid. Ayumu, on the other hand, had not been so lucky.

It was hot to touch. Ayumu opened her mouth to scream out in pain, but the hot liquid only got into her mouth and scorched her throat. She was screaming and crying, and none of that helped her against the nightmare fuel she was sinking into.

Ayumu closed her eyes tight. Her intention had been to try to fall asleep, so that she wouldn't be awake to find out how it felt to drown in red liquid. But the images that played across her eyelids weren't sleep aids. She remembered her older brother offering to help her get to school in the morning and catching her little sister in a hug that afternoon. They could be really rude and inconsiderate at times, but they loved her in the end. And then there was Miyoko. Her best friend had already gone missing and she had had such sad nightmares over it… How would she feel when her new friend, Ayumu, went missing as well?

That thought was cold and scary. She didn't want it, just like how she didn't want to drown. Ayumu scrunched her eyes more tightly closed, trying to block out the terrifying nightmare enveloping her senses. She tried to focus on that little light inside of her...

Her mind wandered. Once again, Ayumu Inoue was spacing out. It was nicer to let her mind wander away from the drowning and burning things. Instead, she remembered Miyoko. She thought about how Miyoko had been so upset about losing a friend that she had that awful nightmare. And she thought about the hopeful scene that nightmare had turned into at the end, with a happy picnic in what used to be a field of decay.

_It changed._

She felt that thought 'click' in place in her mind. When Cure Faith defeated the nightmare, it had turned into a dream. What was once a Nightmare Garden melted into a sweet dream. The dying grass came to life, flowers bloomed, the sun shune…

_Because nightmares are the same as dreams. Just opposite ends of the extremes. _

Her eyes snapped open. Her vision was still tainted by the red liquid, but Ayumu could see something else much more clearly. She visualized the light again. That little light inside of her that guided her through trials and kept her safe… What if it was bigger? What if it was so big and bright that it shoved this gross red liquid aside? What if- What if-

_What if I had nothing to be afraid of?_

Light consumed her vision. Cure Faith held her hand out towards Ayumu Inoue, but it was too late. When the golden light faded, it was no longer Ayumu standing in front of her. Cure Light turned to face the Suya Seed Suitcase, her golden eyes narrowed. She looked stern, but not particularly angry. It was more like a mother scolding a child than a look of hatred.

"Those vines wrapping that man up… He'll get more tied up the more scared he is, right?" She asked, not looking away from Cure Faith.

The pink Cure was silent. The words bubbling in the back of her throat were of rage… or were they confusion? Sadness? She couldn't tell what she felt about seeing another Cure in front of her, but she did know that those feelings served no purpose in a battle.

So Cure Faith swallowed them, "Right. It's a downward slope once they start."

"They make the nightmares a bit stronger, and they get more strength as the nightmare gains strength too!" Rebebe explained, "Now that he's partially tied up, this battle will be much harder!"

"I see." Cure Light nodded slowly as she processed the information, "I've got it now. Cure Faith! I'm going to make you an opening!"

"What?" Cure Faith flinched with surprise, "Why- How- H, hold up!"

A blur of yellow flashed passed her without elaborating much further. Faith spun around to watch as Cure Light jumped into the air and over the giant suitcase. It would have been an elegant and beautiful motion, if not for how the yellow Cure had apparently forgotten about landing. She was not about to land safely on a slab of concrete, but was barreling down into the red liquid.

"You idiot!" Cure Faith shrieked, watching as- for the second time- Cure Light fell into the red liquid… No, that wasn't it. That was what she had expected. Instead of falling into the red ooze, Cure Light landed on top of it. A flash of light expanded like a ripple from under her boots, leaving pink water where it had once been red. The subtle change became more notable as Cure Light sped across the water's surface, running a circle around the suitcase monster.

Her foe howled in a mixture of confusion and anger. Matching its sound was a screech from the pink haired enemy that floated above them, watching with a bird's eye view.

"What is she doing? This is impossible!" Usagi yelled, fists balled around handfuls of her dress, "Suya Suitcase, don't just stand there! DO something!"

"Suu!" So the suitcase acted. It bodyslammed into the liquid, trying to fall on the Cure.

"Iyaaaah!" Light wailed, noticing the huge shadow as it shrunk closer, "Not part of my plan, NOT PART OF MY PLAN!"

"Cure Light!" Faith moved swiftly, jumping between some of the remaining slabs to reach her fellow Cure. Her last jumping point was a good meter or two from the suitcase, but such a jump was no problem for an experienced Pretty Cure. Without a shred of doubt in her skill, Faith leapt towards the suitcase and flung a kick at its falling side, causing it to fall in the other direction. What she did doubt was whether or not she could run on the water's surface like Cure Light, so she used the suitcase as a last minute spring board to help herself reach another safe point.

"Thank you, Cure Faith!" Cure Light called, the relief audible in her voice, "This is it! Are you watching, Rebebe?"

"Yeah!" Rebebe was giggling at the entire scene, clapping her tiny paws together with childish glee.

"Great! Because here I go!" Cure Light skedded to a stop just as a wave resulting from the Suya Suitcase's fall washed over her. The ooze was dyed a mix of pink and red now, as Cure Light's strange confidence mixed with what remained of the nightmarish liquid.

"Pretty Cure!" She sprung into the air, legs tucked under her and arms held high, then tapped the yellow jewels embedded in her hair buns as she landed, "NIGH-T LIGHT!"

The jewels lit up as one might expect a 'night light' to do. Brighter and brighter, so much so that it hurt Usagi's eyes. Even her nightmare seemed to be blinded by the white brightness that Cure Light had created.

"What- What's going on?" It was different for Cure Faith. She was dazed by the light, but it didn't burn her eyes in the same way that it did her enemy's. It was a strange sight, like a dream: Where the light touched them, the houses, damaged with their walls torn off, just looked like dollhouses. The red liquid was a pink lake, touched by a gorgeous sunset. She knew these thing weren't real yet, but they were possibilities. Cure Light's night light had done just that: Cast a new light on the nightmare.

"Go, Cure Faith!" Light the Cure called to the other girl. Cure Faith snapped out of her daze and nodded, facing the Nightmare with what confidence she had left. Somewhere, even when she felt overwhelmed by grief or confusion, the pink Cure had faith in her abilities: She had at least a shred of confidence.

"Pretty Cure!" She held her hands over her head and summoned that confidence- that faith- into a ball of light over her head. Three of her fingers sunk into it easily and she brought it down to roll across the ground, "Miracle RUSH!"

The pink ball of light smashed into the Suya Nightmare with the force of a strike. With a trademark cry of "Suyaa," the monster dissolved. As did the nightmarish scenery. The red moon became a red sun that dipped into a calm lake, painting its surface with hues of pink and yellows. The houses were now dollhouses, elaborate and full of hopes and happiness. And the man who had been covered in vines lay floating on the water's surface, his smile one of relaxation. Quickly, the scenery retreated like a fading light into his chest.

Cure Light and Cure Faith stood on a night time sidewalk, looking at the girl floating in the sky.

"How did you- Grrr, Pretty Cure!" Usagi shrieked, "I won't forget this!"

And 'poof.' She was gone by the time Cure Light blinked next.

The man was still sleeping, so the two Pretty Cure stayed closeby to watch out for him. They stepped into the shadows of a tree, silent at first. Cure Light didn't know what to say. She knew that Cure Faith had wanted her to think hard about becoming a Pretty Cure and had probably also wanted for her to say 'no.'

"Um-! Cure Faith-!"

"Don't even start." Faith cut her off coldly. The pink cure's eyes were downcast, making it hard for Cure Light to read the other girl's expression. She heard Faith draw in a deep and shaky breath, then lift her head and glare at the yellow girl, "I'm grateful for your help… But that was absolutely reckless!"

"What…?" Cure Light flinched, "I mean- Yeah, but-"

"No 'buts'!" Cure Faith cut her off again, "You're lucky that courage chain reacted to you twice. You're really, really lucky! Don't you realize that you almost _died?!_"

Now it was Light's turn to hang her head and hide her expression. Cure Faith had a point. As much as she wanted to, and thought she should be, praised she also deserved a scolding. She had almost drowned in that liquid because of her clumsy and reckless decision to enter the Nightmare Garden. Light knew that. Ayumu had known that…

"You were lucky! But if things had gone any differently, you'd be dead or holding me back!" Cure Faith continued her verbal onslaught, "I'll admit you did pretty well, but that was completely luck based!"

"Faith!" Rebebe spoke up now, her voice strained by panic and sadness, "It isn't Light's fault! Taking risks is what makes you brave! It's what makes a Courage Chain react! You're not going to find a Courage Chain candidate better than Ayumu is!"

Cure Faith fell silent. She could see that her words had impacted Cure Light in a painful way. The blonde cure had her head hung and tears brimming in her eyes. It was upsetting to know that she, a Pretty Cure, had hurt someone's heart like this. Especially when Rebebe spoke the truth. The Courage Chains were the fallback plan. They reacted to courage and Cure Faith knew Ayumu Inoue was the perfect Courageous Pretty Cure. But, still…

"Then maybe I don't want any of the Courageous Pretty Cure to transform." She spoke slowly, but coldly, "If the Courage Chains are going to pick reckless fools who rely on luck to win, then I don't think we need them!"

"Cure Faith-!"

"Enough, Rebebe!" Cure Faith shot at a glare at the little fairy, causing her to shrink fearfully, "The Courage Chains are meant to replace my comrades, right? Well, as the leader, I reject that idea. If the rightful Pretty Cure couldn't win then a team of reckless fools playing hero is going to make it worse."

Cure Faith tugged the Courage Chains that were attached to her outfit. The sound of their metallic movements got Cure Light to look up again. The sound of Rebebe's wailing got her expression to harden.

"You said you would return those to Rebebe once she told me the truth." Cure Light forced the trembling out of her voice and held out her hand, "Well she told me. You can reject me all you want, but I won't let you be a liar too."

"Tch…" Cure Faith didn't hesitate when detaching the chains from her waist. It was a relief that even if Cure Faith didn't want the other Pretty Cure, she also didn't want to lie. A deal was a deal. Even a lone Pretty Cure couldn't lose her honest streak. But she showed no kindness when throwing the three remaining chains at Cure Light.

"Take them then. I don't care." Her voice was forced into a hiss, "But I warned you. You're in for nothing but trouble with that attitude, Cure Light!"

Cure Light flinched, holding the chains tightly in her trembling hands as she yelled, "Lo… Look who it is talking, or something!"

Then, before their petty swabble could get any further, Cure Faith stomped a foot and jumped high into the air. Cure Light made the mistake of blinking, and by the time her eyes were open the other cure was gone.

[ EYECATCH 1: Ayumu and Miyoko are outside having a picnic for lunch. Somewhere behind them, a translucent girl with pink hair watches with a sad smile on her face. ]

[ EYECATCH 2: Cure Light and Cure Faith stand back-to-back, with Cure Light smiling a bubbly smile and posing dramatically while Cure Faith is frowning with her arms crossed over her chest. Cure Faith begins walking to the right, out of the frame, and we see that Cure Light could only maintain this pose when leaning on her fellow Cure. Cure Light flails and falls dramatically to the ground, leaving an empty frame with the logo in the corner. ]

It was after ten when Ayumu finished her homework. The downstairs lights crept under the door and into her darkened bedroom, reminding her that her mother wasn't home yet. Her brother and sister were probably asleep already. The house was quiet.

So now wasn't the time to cry. She would definitely be heard if she broke this silence with her sobs. Instead, Ayumu laid on her bed and held a pillow to her chest as she stared at the ceiling.

"What a crazy day…" Ayumu moaned, "It's only been one day, but I feel like it's been eight exhausting months…"

"That's a specific number, -rebe."

"It's a specific feeling." Ayumu sighed, rolling onto her side to face Rebebe. The little fairy was curled up on a pillow next to her. The fluffy white hoodie had been replaced with a silky white nightgown to match Ayumu's own yellow starry pajamas. It was easy to tell at even a glance that Rebebe was exhausted. Poor kid had been having a crazy time before Ayumu had met her.

"You must be super tired -rebe." The fairy addressed the concern oppositely to Ayumu, "You were busy being cool at day."

"Hehe…" Ayumu blushed and laughed meekly, "Not really… You're the one who was pretty cool. You found your first Pretty Cure already."

"But I wouldn't've been able to do that without Ayumu -rebe." Rebebe pointed out.

"And I wouldn't have been able to do it with Rebebe." She giggled, "That's what it means to be a team, right?"

"Ayumu…" Rebebe grinned a small, tired smile, "Yeah! And being a team means we need to find the other Pretty Cure -rebe."

"Mm." Ayumu reached out and rubbed Rebebe behind her dark wolf-ish ears, "Let's get the team together and help Cure Faith, ne?"

"Mm-hmm." Rebebe yawned loudly and closed her eyes. The pep talk must have been convincing, since it only took a minute for the small fairy to fall asleep. It took Ayumu much longer than that. She wanted to help Rebebe, but Cure Faith's words still stung. Had she been too reckless afterall? Was she going to be a useless partner to the more experienced cure?

_I can't think that way._ Ayumu closed her eyes. She couldn't see it physically, but she felt the presence of the light in her heart. That light was surely what made her Cure Light. And she was sure that it couldn't be a bad thing, right?

_I'll feel better in the morning… I'm just overthinking things._

The light felt brighter. It was that warm and reassuring brightness that lulled Ayumu into a relaxing sleep, where her stresses couldn't reach her. She stayed in that place for the rest of the night, reassured by a voice that confidently told her not to worry about Cure Faith. That the other cure was just scared and confused. Courage was scary and dangerous. Cure Faith was afraid of it…

It was dark in the Night Manor. Light never touched this stretch of property, even if the sun of Dreaming Land shone all around it. From an outside perspective, it was as if the manor had an invisible barrier that deflected daytime. Inside the barrier was a large mansion of two stories and two wings, with a budding garden in its center.

The sight of this garden always reminded Usagi of an old school project that she had once done. As she did most mornings, Usagi stopped in the garden and knelt down next to one of the flowers. In a school project, the class had taken pure white flowers and set them in coloured water. The stems had sucked up the colour and changed the petal colours. This garden had a similar effect: Flowers that had once been brightly coloured were now sucking up the darkness of the Night Manor grounds and turning themselves dark shades of purple and blue.

"Usagi. Come on." The pinkette lifted her head as her name was called. Waiting at the end of a long sidewalk was her older brother, Leo. The two of them were returning home after a long night of creating Nightmare Gardens and Leo was probably anxious to get to bed. So she didn't keep him waiting, instead hopping to her feet like the rabbits she was named for and bounding over to him.

"I think I counted three new flowers!" She beamed as she caught up with her brother, "Great work last night, Leonii."

"Yeah yeah." He reached out to pat her head and cracked a tired smile, "I'm pretty sure half of those were yours."

Usagi puffed her cheeks in a pout, "None of them were mine. That stupid Cure Faith and Cure Light ruined my new garden-"

"You kept them busy." Leo cut her off quickly, "Because of you, those dreamers didn't even notice my setting up a new garden. I was able to capture three people because of you."

"Leonii…" Usagi smiled weakly. It was reassuring to hear that, but still… "Right. Let's go tell Mother and Father! They'll be so excited!"

Her big brother's hand slid off of her head and she caught it in her own, swinging their arms as she energetically dragged him through the dark doors of their home. Leo caught a yawn with his free hand and allowed himself to be dragged along with her. He had said that as confidently as he could, but he wasn't quite sure. That pesky fairy, Rebebe, still had three of the other Courage Chains. Sealing the other Dreaming Pretty Cure away meant nothing if they were going to be replaced. Right now, the only advantage that his sister and him had was that their strength outnumbered that of Cure Faith. Her getting allies would turn the tables again…

"We'll just have to cut their roots while they're amateurs…"

"What? Leonii?"

Leo bit the inside of his cheek to scold himself for speaking aloud, then shook his head to Usagi, "It's nothing. Come on. Let's go brag to Mother and Father."

"Yeah!" Usagi cheered, "Race you there, Leonii! Three, two, one- Hop!"

And off she went. Leo followed at a slow pace, purposefully letting her win. The sight of his pink haired younger sister hopping through the house was the inspiration that he needed. He had to stop the Pretty Cure. He couldn't let them take this simple pleasure away from him.

The pink haired girl's carefree steps continued as they entered the manor. Her red hood and cape stuck out against the darkness of the interior, as if she were a light that fended off the shadows. Leo sometimes wondered if that were really the case with Usagi or if his modified eyes were perceiving things that way. If anyone could light up a room with her smile, it was his little sister. Regardless, he followed her up the grand stairway and into the main chamber.

"We're home!" Usagi's cheery voice echoed in the darkness. She didn't bring up the fact that she had won the race verbally, but Leo sensed her childish pride as he walked closer to her. It wasn't until he was within an arm's length of his little sister that they heard a reply.

"_Welcome home, children. Did you have a productive trip?"_ The smooth, gentle voice of a woman slipped through the darkness. It was only with his nightmarish eyes that Leo could see the form of the voice's owner as she sat on what was essentially a throne. Of the two plush, purple thrones some five feet away from him, only one was occupied. His father must have retired early.

"Yes!" Usagi answered with a chime, "Leonii and I got three whole flowers harvested! They're in our garden now!"

_"Three?"_ Repeated the woman's sweet voice. Leo found himself holding his breathe and putting a hand on Usagi's shoulder. Was she disappointed? Was three a good number? He subconsciously stepped in front of his younger sister, ready and willing to protect her if that number was not enough.

No danger came. Instead, the woman produced a soft laugh and clapped her slender hands together. The room may have been dark, but it felt much lighter when that woman spoke in this tone, _"Why, that's practically a bouquet, Usagi. You must have worked hard to get so many in one night!"_

"Uh-huh!" Usagi continued pridefully, "I distracted the two Pretty Cure so that Leonii could make them! Wasn't that smart?"

Normally, Leo might have snorted a laugh at that. How quick she was to adopt his excuse as if it were her plan all along… It was very typical of his clumsy but prideful little sister. However, his reasons to relax were snatched away before he could smile-

_"Two Pretty Cure? Didn't you say that we were only against one now, Usagi?"_

All too quickly, the laughter in the room stopped. The light that Leo thought Usagi was inspiring was snuffed out. His hand was on his little sister's shoulder and drawing her closer to him, as the shadows around the pair seemed to close in just the same.

_"What happened, Usagi? Leo? Your father is going to be most disappointed in you."_

Leo grimaced at her phrasing and lowered his head, "I know. We're sorry, Mother…"

Usagi tucked closer to her big brother, watching the woman's darkened form with a worried expression, "It's not our fault! I-It's that stupid Rebebe! Yumeme's dumb sister! She used the yellow Courage Chain today!"

"_Today?_" The woman called Mother repeated thoughtfully "_The yellow one?_"

Leo nodded, "She's Cure Light. She's a rookie at best."

"_I see. Then seal her as well._" Said the woman is a brisk voice, "_If she is really just a rookie then it should be no problem for you, right?_"

"Right…" Leo grimaced, "I'll take care of her myself."

"_That's my boy. Thank you, Leo._" Mother's voice became relaxed again. The air around them seemed to become softer as her strict, scolding tone was replaced with the sound of a smile, "_But not tonight. You've both worked so hard already. Please have some supper and let us retire to bed._"

The children relaxed, with Usagi piping up with concern, "Are you going to stay up later, Mother?"

Mother shook her head, "_No, I was only staying up to wait for you both. A mother cannot sleep when her precious children are not yet home safely, you know._"

"Ehehe!" Usagi grinned, "Well, we're home now! Let's get a good sleep!"

"_Of course. Well then, Leo. Usagi. Please sleep well._"

"We will! Come on, Leo! I'm hungry!" Once again, Usagi dragged Leo along.

Mother watched until her children were out of sight, then sighed. Her smile faded and she began massaging her forehead, "_Another Pretty Cure… I can't let her take our progress away. Not when things are finally looking good for us…_"

"Finally! I can't believe I survived!" Ayumu exclaimed as soon as school ended for the day. She had been so worked up the night before that it was hard to sleep, resulting in a very tiring second day at school. Once her classmates had cleared out of the classroom she opened her bag and peeked inside. "Coast is clear, Rebebe."

"Bebe!" The little fairy gasped as she popped out of the bag, "Why is school so loong?"

"You're asking me?" Giggled Ayumu, "Anyway, now we can go find more Pretty Cure!"

"Yay!" Rebebe giggled, "How are we going to do that, Ayumu?"

"Um…..."

There was a long, awkward silence. Ayumu scratched her cheek thoughtfully, tilted her head, pursed her lips… and let out a defeated sigh.

"I-I have no idea. My transformation was pure luck…" She admitted.

"Hmm…" Rebebe floated up to the desk and sat in front of Ayumu, "The Courage Chains will react to courageous hearts in action. So we need to get people to be brave -rebe."

"But how? It's not like people have reasons to be super brave evey day, you know…?"

"Yeah…."

The two of them sighed again in unison. Then, quite suddenly, Rebebe snapped into focus when lifting her head.

"Ayumu! I smell a nightmare garden -rebe!" She declared.

"What? Right now?!" Ayumu stood up and pushed her chair back, making it squeak across the floor, "How close is it?"

"It has to be close enough for me to smell it!" Rebebe explained, "That, or it's super strong -rebe."

"I hope it's just close by…" Mumbled the worried Courageous Pretty Cure, "Let's not waste anytime! We can worry about the other chains later!"

"Right -rebe!"

The nightmare garden was indeed close by. A student had been returning home and dreading the reaction that her parents would have to her latest test score. At least now, Leo mused to himself, she wouldn't have to go home and face that humiliation. The girl hung in the air with vines around her arms and legs, her black hair frazzled by the protest she had attempted before the Suya Seed entered her heart. Now she was deeply asleep, and her nightmares were growing in the form of a rose garden.

"Let's capture your dream quickly." Leo spoke aloud to the sleeping girl, standing in front of her, "We don't need those Pretty Cure interfering."

"Well, you weren't fast enough!" Ayumu's voice called out before she had even come into view. She pushed roses aside as she made her way to the center of the dream, golden brown eyes narrowed to match her firm frown, "Let her go! Can't you tell that she's really scared right now?"

"Can't you tell that's the point?" Leo sighed in exasperation as he turned to face Ayumu. "Oh well. You brought this upon yourself by entering my garden."

Ayumu forced strength into her legs as she stood her ground, "Y-yeah well… You brought this upon yourself by being a meanie!"

She reached for the keychain on her bag and clicked it off, holding it as firmly as she could in trembling hands, "Pretty Cure! Dreeeam START!"

The Courage Chain began to beep a steady melody, one that suddenly burst into a full fledge orchestra. Just as she had before, Ayumu spread the infectious yellow light from the chain over her body and transformed into Cure Light. After tapping the diamond onto her neck and creating her bow, Cure Light struck a pose and forced some pep into her voice, "Nurturing the growth of dreams - I'm Cure Light!"

And was then hit in the face when a giant piece of paper blew at her.

"Eh?! EHH!"

The paper was well over six feet tall and knocked Cure Light off of her feet. As she toppled back onto her butt, Cure Light saw the sheet of paper lift into the air like a kite. It was blocking the sun and those shadows began transforming the once lush and beautiful rose garden into a true nightmare. The red roses melted and left puddles of red on the pavement, with the puddles slowly forming red X's and low test scores. 60/100. 40/100. 30/100. Each score was lower than the last and it made Cure Light feel hopeless to just look at them.

"Why? The more I study…"

A voice snuck out of the scared girl's lips. Cure Light lifted her head to look at the dark haired girl whose nightmares were filled with low test scores. Adding to her nightmare were now the sounds of loud voices. Light couldn't understand the words, but she knew they were angry. She knew they were scolding these failures printed plainly across the path that girl tried to walk.

"The worse it gets… I'm a failure…"

Cure Light bit her lip, trying to calculate the right response. Before she could speak, Rebebe screamed a loud warning, "Cure Light! Look out!"

She looked up and saw that the huge sheet of paper, the one that had been blocking out the sun, had split up into six narrow strips. The suddenly flew down on her like arrows, and Cure Light had a feeling that they would give more than a simple paper cut.

But there wasn't much time to evade them. As she rose to her feet, Cure Light placed her feet clumsily and stretched her right leg in the wrong way. A pain shot down to her foot and caused her to stumble. She curled into a somersault so that she could still dodge the paper cuts, but when she landed on her knees again she knew she wouldn't be able to stand again. Not without a lot of pain, at least.

"Quite the acrobat… Though that's just part of being a Pretty Cure, isn't it?" Leo commented from where he stood, still by the scared dreamer. Cure Light shakily got to her feet, earning a chuckle from her opponent, "Enough playing around. Test Nightmare! Finish her off!"

The six strips of paper gathered together again. It folded hamburger style, then straightened to reveal a terrifying face now drawn across its surface with red ink. Cure Light swallowed her fear, even as it bellowed angrily at her, "SUYAAA!"

It floated into the air again. Cure Light knew that she couldn't dodge that attack again. She had gotten lucky before. Just like how transforming was just a matter of luck for her.

_This is it! I'm going to be sliced to death by a sheet of paper! That's not how I wanted to go!_

Something clicked in the back of her mind. For a moment, Cure Light laughed. Softly at first, then more loudly. Leo looked rather alarmed. Had this nightmare driven a Pretty Cure to insanity?

"Why… Why are you laughing?" Leo asked cautiously.

"B-because!" Cure Light giggled, "Oh wow. Being killed by paper? That's so stupid! Being _defeated _ by paper is stupid!"

"Huh…?" Leo didn't have much time to question Light's laughter. She pulled it together and pointed in his direction. More specifically, she was pointing at the student hanging next to him.

"Don't you agree? Low scores are scary, yeah… But being defeated by them? By a sheet of paper?" Cure Light huffed, "It doesn't have to be this way! I won't let it! I won't let bad grades taint your dreams, okay?"

Neither Leo nor that dreaming girl had a chance to comment. Cure Light drew in a deep breathe, then launched herself into the air at the giant paper Nightmare. She threw a kick at it with her good leg as she spun upside-down, catching herself with her arms when she landed so as to keep her weight off of her bad leg. When Cure Light flipped onto her feet again, the effect of her kick was already becoming apparent. The paper monster had indeed split into smaller pieces like before, but the crinkles left by her kick were providing wind resistance. The strips fell uselessly to the ground instead of flying at her like arrows.

"Wh-what? Oi, Nightmare! Do something _effective!_" Leo snapped.

The paper nightmare made a mournful, "Suyaaa" sound and wiggled itself limply. It was too sore to pull itself together again.

"Sorry not-sorry, Leo! But unless you have some Suya Tape, that Suya Test is out for the count!" Cure Light snapped, "She knows it too! Tests can't get in the way of a dreamer. They don't decide if you can succeed or not!"

"Well, that might not be entirely true." A pair of heels tapped the ground next to Cure Light. The pink solo Cure, Cure Faith, stood strong next to the other girl, "Tests are important, but not enough to derail your dreams."

"Y-you ruined my speech… " Cure Light pouted softly, "Glad you could make it, though."

"Mm. Sorry for the wait." Cure Faith mumbled back, not entirely 'sorry.' She wished that Cure Light would have stayed out of this, but by now she knew that was asking too much. That girl could get lectured, scolded, and hurt… But she still fought. Courage really was a reckless thing.

"Do what you did before." She spoke again, clearing her thoughts to focus on the battle, "We're ending this."

Cure Light beamed. 'We...' She liked that word when Cure Faith said it.

"Yeah!"

"You're not ending anything!" Leo barked, "Get rid of them, now!"

"SUYAAA!"

The paper wiggled ineffectively on the ground. It was already in pieces and just looked silly at this point. Even so, Cure Light tapped the diamonds trapped in her hair buns and caused them to light up brilliantly, "Pretty Cure! Ni-ght LIGHT!"

Golden light filled the nightmare garden. It seemed to have an effect on the paper nightmare, which began wiggling more desperately. When the pieces stood up, it was not of their own free will: The wiggled and crinkled and folded until they had become origami cranes. Each crane wore a shocked and surprised expression, as this was not what the paper had planned to do.

"Now! Have a little more faith in your dreams!" Cure Faith ran towards the cranes. The six of them hopped around in a comical scramble as the pink cure lifted her arm, "Pretty Cure! Miracle Rush!"

- and tossed a ball of light towards them as if she were bowling. Just in time to catch all six cranes arranged by bowling pins and knock them out in one blow.

"STRIIIIKE!" Cure Light cheered.

The pink haired girl cracked a small smile at that. The origami cranes were now smiling. They floated into the air and hung on invisible strings, dangling over a road that was paved not with red scores, but golden light. Next to Leo, the vines on his victim began to loosen until the schoolgirl fell softly on the ground.

Leo's mouth fell open. He'd failed. All of his hard work was now wasted.

"Curse you… Pretty Cure! You've won this time, but only this once!" He yelled before disappearing into his own shadow.

"Ha!" Cure Light laughed confidently, "Joke's on you! Now that Cure Faith and I are a team, we're invincible! Right, Cure Faith?"

The yellow cure turned around, but no one was there. Only Rebebe, who looked quite apologetic as she explained, "Cure Faith left before Leo did."

"Wh-what?" Light gasped, "But she didn't even say good bye!"

"She didn't really say 'hello' either -rebe." Rebebe mused thoughtfully, "Do you really think you are a team?"

"Well… That's- But- I mean…" Cure Light rambled, then shrieked suddenly when tried to step towards Rebebe, "M-my leg!"

"Cure Light!" Rebebe squeaked in alarm, "It's okay, I'm here for you!"

It took a good deal longer to get home then Ayumu might have liked. After having her leg bandaged by Daisuke and being teased for her humiliating cover story- _"I fell down the stairs or something"_- Ayumu retreated to her bedroom.

"At least I got off of helping with supper." She grumbled into her bedsheets, her ears still red from all of that shameful blushing, "Didn't stop him from teasing me, though…"

"Daisuke is such a mean big brother -rebe." Two fairy cents and one fairy came out of Ayumu's school bag.

The dark haired girl cast her fairy friend a weak smile, "Yeah, but he's my brother. Sometimes family can be a bit mean, but they're still family…"

Her voice trailed off. Ayumu rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Is it the same for Pretty Cure teams -rebe?" Her fairy friend practically read her mind as she plopped down next to the other girl, "Cure Faith is mean too."

"Yeah, I know. But she's mean for the same reason Daisuke is." Ayumu closed her eyes and smiled sadly, "She just cares too much… I need to get stronger. Strong enough to not worry her anymore."

"Rebe…" The fairy yawned and snuggled up by Ayumu's cheek, "Me too. Strong enough… To be teased by my caring big sister too…"

_Whump. _Just like that, Rebebe was out like a light. Ayumu closed her own eyes and smiled. It had been a pretty exhausting few days… Maybe… A nap couldn't hurt. A protector of dreams could enjoy a few too, right?

But if that was the case…

Leo cursed and slammed a fist against a tree. Because if the protectors of dreams were enjoying their peace, then the bringers of nightmares… He wasn't ready for what would be in store for Usagi and him.

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><p>Next Episode Preview-!<p>

Ayumu: Eh? I'm getting a new team member already? But I barely get along with Cure Faith!

Rebebe: That's okay! The new girl is Cure Music!

Ayumu: Music? I like music. Pop especially!

Rebebe: Ah, but see. There's a problem.

Ayumu: Eh?

Rebebe: Um, about this Cure Music…

Ayumu: Yes?

Rebebe: I don't think she wants to get along with you either…

Ayumu: E-Eeeeh? Next time on Courageous Hearts Precure! The Couragous Heart's Song! I hope this doesn't become a trend…!

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><p>note;; Thank you for being patient with me and my super slow updates! Please have a good New Year!<p> 


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